Landslide
by Chicken Licken
Summary: The Triwizard Tournament is being held at Hogwarts this year. James and Lily hate each other, but can the Tournament change more than a reputation? YES, AUTHOR IS AWARE OF INCORRECT TIME PERIOD
1. Chapter One

Landslide  
  
Lily Evans was running full speed down the hallway. Her black shoes thudded against the stone floor, the sound reverberating against the empty hall. She skidded to a halt in front of an oak door. Taking a breath to reassure herself, she quietly slipped inside the Great Hall.  
  
Lily emerged a moment later behind the head table, thankful for the noise and bustle of the feast to mask her late arrival. Dumbledore saw her out of the corner of his eye. She expected him to be annoyed by her lateness, but he broke into a smile and gestured her to have a seat.  
  
Calmly and quietly she made her way to the empty seat at the head table. She pulled out her chair, and sat down slowly, admiring the view from here.  
  
"May I again have everyone's attention please?" Dumbledore hollered above the chatter.  
  
"Our newest Head Girl has just joined us. Lily Evans, everyone,"   
  
A loud applause rang out through the hall. She smiled back at them all, nodding her head slightly. A sudden exasperated noise came from her left. She whirled around, only to see the one person she had completely hated - sitting right next to her. And not only that, she could see a Head Boy badge pinned to his robes.   
  
"Potter," she spat out.  
  
"Evans," he answered back, just as curtly.  
  
The applause was beginning to die down, when he continued.  
  
"My applause was louder." he said with a smirk, looking around at the student body.  
  
Lily ignored him, and focused again on the Headmaster.  
  
"Now that everyone is present, I will make my long awaited announcement."  
  
The noise level dropped so suddenly, it was as if someone had pressed a mute button on them all.  
  
Dumbledore coughed, and continued.  
  
"I have, over the summer, been in close contact with the ministry, as well as a few other Headmasters and Mistresses. We have together consulted and inquired upon a very old, very prestigious game played very rarely between schools. After much insight, and after making sure that every precautionary method would be put in place - we have come to the conclusion of holding a Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts this year."  
  
Lily stared unblinkingly at Dumbledore. The entire hall had kept silent, even a few teachers looked anxious. A fork clattered over a plate, and Lily jumped a few inches out of her seat.   
  
"Sorry," said James loudly to everyone. The clatter seemed to signify the allowance to speak, and the Hall was again filled with chatter and the intake of food.  
  
"Pardon!" yelled Professor Dumbledore. "As I had said just a moment ago, the Tournament will be held this year - and since we are the hosting school, all eligible representatives from both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons will be joining us at the end of October. I must impress upon you to represent our school most admirably. This will be no effort to most, however I do believe that some would benefit from this reminder. "  
  
He stopped momentarily, and Lily used the pause to glare at James.  
  
"Now then, As the Tournament calls for precautionary rules, the application for school Champion is only opened to those 16 or older. The Goblet will decide which one is to compete, and we will have the results at the end of the Halloween Feast."  
  
Lily stared at her plate. She could hear Dumbledore explaining the finer details of the Tournament to the school.   
  
'Champion,' she thought. Now there was something to put on a resume. She got a twist in her stomach just thinking about it.   
  
James Potter flicked her sharply on the side of the head. She stared at him angrily.  
  
"You putting your name in?"  
  
"I'll think about it."  
  
"Scared that you'll embarass the school?"  
  
"No." she said through her teeth. What was it with him and getting on her nerves?  
  
"Well I'm going for it. At least I'll have a fighting chance."  
  
Lily felt for her wand in her pocket.  
  
"So will I."  
  
He shook his head slightly, as if in disagreement, before turning away. Lily sat back in her chair, arms crossed.  
  
'That prat,' she thought to herself, over and over again.  
  
After a while, the amount of students remaining in the Hall had dwindled to maybe a dozen, the rest having gone up to bed. All of the teachers had gone, and Dumbledore had given James and Lily the responsibility of closing up the Great Hall after everyone had gone. Afterwards they were to meet him and discuss the upcoming school year.  
  
Lily drummed her fingers on the table. Her plate had been cleared and magicked away, and all that remained on the table was a few jugs of pumkin juice and half empty plates of cookies. Her eyes rolled over to where James sat.  
  
He was making a glass of water levitate before him.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asked.  
  
"How high do you think I can make it go before I lose control of it?"  
  
"I'm not saying anything." she said, and tried to grab the glass to pull it back on the table.   
  
James made it fly just out of her reach. She tried again, but it shifted just before her fingers closed around it. She almost toppled out of her chair, but caught herself.  
  
Well, she had caught herself by grasping the back of James' chair and the table in front of him. Her face was right in his, and they were only an inch apart.   
  
He broke into a grin that had made every other girl swoon. Lily scowled. She pushed herself back ino the seat, at a farther distance from him.   
  
"Bet you liked that."  
  
"Never."  
  
"Yup. Even Evans could fall for the Potter charm."  
  
Lily could have choked on her spit.   
  
"Charm?" she said in disbelief. "What charm?"  
  
He smiled again. She snorted at the thought of it. Lily traced her finger along the edge of an empty goblet.   
  
She heard his chair move closer to her. A hand came softly over hers, pulling it away from the goblet. He held it gently.   
  
Lily tried pulling away, but soon she could feel his warm breath on her neck. She turned her head sharply, ready to tell him off, or slap him - whichever seemed fit at the time. But when she turned to look at him, once again they were only inches apart.   
  
He looked so serious, looking deep into her eyes, and surveying her face. His free hand ran through her hair, pushing some of hit behind her ear.  
  
Lily had gotten her hand free from his. And for one moment James thought 'Triumph!'. She looked so taken with him. He ignored the softness of her wavy hair and the emerald green of her eyes. He was going to finish this with the ultimate offensive movement towards her.   
  
He leaned in, closer and closer, there wasn't much room between them now. James felt something awkward course through him. He began to pull away, when he suddenly found himself drenched in pumpkin juice.   
  
Lily slammed down the now empty jug on the table. She stood up so quickly that her chair clattered down behind her.  
  
"Don't you ever - " she said, her cheeks flushed. " - ever do that again. You thought you had me going, didn't you? Well listen and listen well Potter. Not only did it not work, but it just furthered every thought of disgust I hold upon you!"  
  
James was still trying to blink the juice out of his eyes. He stood up, but Lily pushed him back into his seat.  
  
"If I'm to work with you, I don't want to spend my time working against you. Understand?"  
  
"Perfectly." he said. Angry at being embarassed like that, he turned to the few remaining students.  
  
"Clear off!" he yelled at their amused faces. They all got up and talked amongst each other as they left. Once the doors had been closed behind them, Lily extracted her wand, using it to clear the last remaining food items off of the tables. James did the same.  
  
What the hell got into him, damn it? Why didn't he do it? Oh yeah. The juice. He must have seen the juice out of the corner of his eye. That was it. He looked over at Lily, who was pushing the chairs neatly into place.  
  
Well, at least he had gotten her angry. 'Hmm,' he thought. 'I can still get back at her for the juice.'  
  
It took him seconds to devise a plan. Lily shoved past him on her way out.  
  
"Come on, Dumbledore will be waiting."  
  
He nodded happily. Lily looked suspiciously at him, but walked ahead anyways. James used his wand to clean himself up before going to the Headmaster. He caught up with Lily just before they went into his office.  
  
They found a letter tucked into the fold of the statue's arm.   
  
It was adressed to both of them. James snatched it from Lily's grasp and opened it.  
  
"Well?" she asked.  
  
"It says you have to be my slave for the rest of the year and - hey!"  
  
Lily grabbed the letter and read,  
  
'The password is Phoenix flames.'   
  
"Phoenix flames." she said aloud to the statue. It hopped aside, and Lily and James both jumped onto the spiraling staircase.  
  
Lily could see the oncoming sliver of light from the doorway to the office.  
  
"Hey Evans,"  
  
She ignored him.   
  
"Fine," he said. "Be that way."  
  
Once they had reahced the top, Dumbledore opened the door and welcomed them inside.  
  
"Sit, sit." he said.  
  
Lily and James fought over the same chair as Dumbledore had his back turned. Once he faced them again, all he saw was Lily smiling polielty at him, just setting herself down in a chair while James looked smug about something. His eyes twinkled.  
  
"Well, I should start off with a congratulations." he said warmly. They thanked him. "And should either of you be interested in competing in the Tournament?"  
  
"I am," said James, giving Lily a look.  
  
"Yes," said Lily through her teeth, The Head Boy and Girl had not looked away from each other.  
  
Dumbledore looked back and forth at them.   
  
"Excellent. That is most admirable. But to business. The first task - and it shall be a daunting one, thus I present it in such advance - will be as follows."  
  
The students turned to look at him.  
  
"As the Tournament will have started by that time, with one task having been completed, it will be most fitting to hold a celebration. This will not only serve as a formal introduction to our guests, but as a festive part of the Tournament. I am leaving the both of you with the responsibility of organizing the Ball - as w-"  
  
"Ball?" came Lily.  
  
"Yes." replied Dumbledore. "And in this Ball, there will be many events taking place that need preparation. Meals, music, dancing lessons -"  
  
"Dancing lessons?" asked James.  
  
"Yes. It is customary for the school champions to open the Yule Ball with a dance. There will then be a dance between all Hogwarts Prefects, as well as - " he paused, unaware of how to continue. "The Head Boy and Girl."  
  
"What?!" came Lily and James at the same time.  
  
"Professor we can't - "  
  
"I won't - "  
  
"You both will follow the custom. And to do that, I suggest that you put aside any arguments and learn to accept this. Now then."  
Dumbledore straightened the hat on his head. "I'll excuse you to go have some rest. We'll see each other again at a later date. I'll notify you of it soon. Good night."  
  
He ushered the dumbfounded students out of his office. Once he had shut the door, he slumped against it, exhausted.  
  
"Young love." he said breathlessly.  
  
Meanwhile, James and Lily had just left the stone statue and were walking briskly down the hall. Lily spoke first.  
  
"There's no way I'm dancing with you."  
  
"Right back at you."  
  
Lily stopped. James didn't notice until he was a bit ahead of her. He stopped and went back.  
  
"What's with the sudden cease of walking?"  
  
"When are we going to start planning this?"  
  
"Planning wh - oh. I don't know. Have your people talk to my people. I'll try to squeeze you in my schedule."  
  
"You can be such an ass sometimes. This needs to get done Potter."  
  
"Oh lighten up, Evans. It was a joke."  
  
"It doesn't matter. Dumbledore said this was a giant task, that's why he's telling us now. I say we start with decorations, then move on to music, and then improvise."  
  
"What about the lessons?"  
  
"What ABOUT the lessons?"  
  
James stared at her, then his face cracked into a grin.  
  
"You know you want to dance with me."  
  
"I most certainly do not. If you think I'm going to take lessons with you, you've got another thing coming."  
  
"Don't sound too excited about it, you'll wreck the fun of it."  
  
"I'm not doing it."  
  
James was quiet for a while.  
  
"Can Evans dance?" he asked.  
  
Lily was thankful that he didn't see her bite her lip.  
  
"Of course, " she responded.  
  
"Positive?"  
  
Lily whirled around.   
  
"Yes Potter. I'm positive!"  
  
James reached out, suddenly grasping her arm. He tried twirling her around with it, but she just got all tangled up with him. He laughed out loud as she pulled away.  
  
"Aww, it's okay." he soothed, as if talking to a baby. Her temper flared. James noticed it too. Time for revenge.  
  
Before Lily knew it, James Potter kissed her quickly on the cheek and ran away. 


	2. Chapter Two

Landslide 2  
  
Lily had quickly made her way back to her dorm, bypassing a few people - causing a few to jump out of her way. She could just feel the vein throbbing in anger on her forehead. How rude could he be? And there was still a year to go with him being one step away from her at all important events. And how long could it be before her patience broke?  
  
She slammed the door shut to her dorm. The sharp bang made her feel better, and she relaxed enough to take in her surroundings.   
  
Since she had become Head Girl, Lily was given a dorm to herself, as well as her own bathroom and study area. The room was magnificent. There was dark wood and stone floors, making it seem royal in itself. The bedsheets and curtains were an off white colour, and even a few burgundy and gold banners were hanging from the walls. Lily even noticed a small Gryffindor flag above the headboard.  
  
But what impressed her most was the study area. Lily was a notorious bookworm, so her admiration for it was understandable. There were shelves of books to the raised celing, and a desk to work at. There were a few oddities around the room, including a globe, paintings, an ornate mirror, and - the best thing - a gliding ladder that ran the perimeter of the room.  
  
Lily promptly forgot about James, and ran to pull down a few books. She read late into the night, catching up on her favourite subject, charms. Once her eyes became droopy and she had to strain to keep her head up, she retired to bed, thankful to be back where she felt most at home.  
  
*  
  
A month flew by, and soon the students at Hogwarts began to talk of the upcoming Tournament. Lily was pestered non stop over whether or not she would submit her name in the Goblet.  
  
"For heavens sake, I'm thinking about it!" she exclaimed to a babbling 5th year. He looked slightly offended, but seemed content at her answer. As he ran off, Lily heard a voice from behind her.  
  
"Thinking about it? I thought you said you were."  
  
Lily didn't answer. She had a class to get to. Unfortunately, James cought up with her, along with his best friends. They called themselves the marauders, apparently.  
  
"Chickening out?" he persisted. A boy Lily knew as Peter Pettigrew snickered into his hand. She raised her chin slightly and walked faster.  
  
"We're all going to put our names in." came Sirius Black, James' best friend.  
  
"And?" she said finally.  
  
"Well, not many others we know are going to try for it. Just wanted to ask."  
  
"She said she was going to, and just now she says she's thinking about it." James said accusingly.  
  
Lily didn't look at him, but said loudly, "I only said I was thinking about it because I'm tired of saying yes."  
  
"But isn't saying ' yes ' easier than saying ' I'm thinking about it ' ?" said Peter thoughtfully.  
  
"He has a point," quipped Sirius.  
  
"It's only easier to some." Lily said, looking directly at James.  
  
A sudden squeal to their right made them jump. A skinny girl from Ravenclaw, whom Lily recognized to be in their year, rolled onto her toes and ran up to James.  
  
"Oh, James! I just found you! Congrats on becoming Head Boy! Are you putting your name in for the Tournament? I just know you'll be chosen over everyone else!"  
  
James broke into his famous grin. This girl's smile got twice as big as before.  
  
"Yeah, Lauren, my name's going in."   
  
He chose that time to look gloatingly at Lily, but he saw her back just dissapearing around a far corner. He turned his attention back to Lauren, whose face had just appeared in front of his.  
  
"Who's she?"  
  
James re-adjusted his glasses. "Oh, no one. Come on, I'll walk you to your class."  
  
Lauren smiled, and hooked her bony elbow around his.  
  
*  
  
Dumbledore called for silence.  
  
"Everyone please calm down for a moment. The students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons will be arriving shortly. I ask that you take this time to make yourselves presentable for our guests. And remember, manners would be greatly appreciated as well."  
  
Lily tried to brush a few wrinkles out of her skirt and sweater. A lot of students openly expressed their dislike of the school uniforms, but Lily favoured their simplicity and clean cut appearance. She noted that her shoes were a bit old and well worn, but she refused to get rid of them. It had taken her four years, and she had finally made them comfortable. She wiped her badge with a napkin, and made sure that her wand was safe in her pocket.  
  
Dumbledore came up to her end of the table, and called for her and James to join him and a few teachers at the entrance doors.  
  
"Okay, we will be lined up along the bottom stair of the outdoor entranceway like thus."  
  
The Headmaster walked among them, ushering them to certain spots until he was satisfied.  
  
"Now everyone stand still, I'm going to go and get the rest of the students. I'll be back in a moment."   
  
Lily stretched her neck out and looked dow the line of teachers. She and James were at the beginning of the line, much to her dislike.  
  
"This is exciting." James commented. "The Tournament hasn't been held for ages. It'll be interesting to see how it goes. Maybe it'll become a tradition."  
  
Lily only nodded slightly. Her hands were cold, even though the evening was mildly cool and inviting. She wasn't very good at meeting people. It always made her nervous and uncomfortable, and the thought of the whole school being behind her - watching - made her vision blurr.  
  
James noticed her unease.   
  
"What's with you?" he asked.  
  
Lily swallowed a lump in her throat.   
  
"I'm not very good at this," she said without thinking."And the fact that the whole school is watching me makes it worse."  
  
James looked at her. She was rubbing her hands and would occasionally shift her weight from foot to foot. He heard the bang of the school doors and the loud rumble of the students as they spilled onto the front lawn.  
  
Lily, meanwhile, was cursing inwardly. Why did she just say that? She had just given him license to tease her about this for the rest of her school year. She dropped her hands to her sides.  
  
James was unaware of what to do at that moment. Had the reply come from any other girl, he'd have just turned on the Potter charm, and instantaneously he'd have a girlfriend. He shoved his hands in his pockets, and gently elbowed her in the side.  
  
"You'll be fine," he muttered, looking over the lake.  
  
Lily was speechless for a moment.   
  
"Thanks,"  
  
He looked at her, before turning away and laughing quickly.  
  
Lily cleared her throat.   
  
There was no more conversing between them, even when the Durmstrang ship surfaced in the lake. Lily watched with interest as about 16 students and a tall witch exited along a small bridge and made their way over to the school. Her stomach turned over.   
  
The students seemed to understand what was going on, and introduced themselves to the ling line of Hogwarts representatives. Lily could feel the blood pouning in her ears.  
  
A boy her age was first.  
  
"W - welcome to Hogwarts." she said quietly. She almost didn't hear herself.  
  
"Vot?" he said, leaning his ear to her face.  
  
"Welcome," she repeated, her cheeks becoming red. He nodded and moved on. A very pretty girl was next, and Lily chose to just smile and nod at her. Once she stepped over to James, Lily could see out of the corner of her eye that the girl was somewhat taken with him.   
  
"Hello," she said, grasping James' hand with both of hers and shaking vigorously.  
  
'Oh great,' she thought. 'Now the fan club is going international.'  
  
Once the students had gone inside, Lily formally introduced herself to the woman accompanying them, who turned out to to be the Durmatrang Headmistress.  
  
"Lily Evans." she said. "Welcome to our school."  
  
The woman raised a pointy nose.  
  
"Headmistress Volinovic of Durmstrang." she replied, squeezing Lily's hand rather tightly.   
  
"James Potter, Head Boy."  
  
Volinovic smiled slightly, without saying a word. James waited until she was out of earshot before he spoke again.  
  
"5 galleons says that nose is fake."  
  
Professor Sprout, a middle aged teacher beside him snorted.  
  
"I'd bet 10."  
  
Lily rolled her eyes, though she secretly agreed. It was a few minutes later that the Beauxbatons carraige - led by 12 massive winged horses, came veering around a far corner of the school, and came to a halt near the Forbidden Forest.  
  
James let out a whistle. Lily watched as the door to the impressive carraige opened, and 8 students came out, led by a plump man with a golden beard. She felt more confident this time, and didn't make a fool of herself.   
  
It was the second last student that had cought Lily's attention. He was her age, and he was strikingly handsome. Dirty blond hair and a pair of eyes that were deep blue. He seemed mildly interested in Lily, who remained level - headed and shook his hand with a firm grip. He smiled at her, and Lily added it to the list of things that she liked about this boy.   
  
The Headmaster's name was Distrait, and he seemed a lot more friendly than Volinovic. As soon as everyone was inside and seated at the freshly scrubbed tables, Dumbledore made his speech.  
  
"Welcome guests! I hope your stay at Hogwarts is memorable and enjoyable. If ever any concern arise during your stay, feel free to talk to myself, a teacher, or our Head Boy and Girl. This evening will signify your welcome, and the beginning of the Triwizard Tournament. Before the casket is brought in, I would like to introduce two well respected members of the Ministry, who will join the judging panel throughout the year. Firstly, Mr Frank Warrick, our Minister for Magic, and Mrs. Wilhemina Johanssen, Head of the Magical Sports Division of the Ministry."  
  
A polite applause was held for the both of them, as they rose from their seats, bowed, and were seated again. Once the ovation had stopped, Dumbledore beckoned to Argus Filch, Hogwarts caretaker. He approached the head table, holding a wooden box, carved intricately with celtic knots and entangled roots adorning its edges. It had a small brass keyhole that looked slightly battered, and well worn.  
  
The Hall of students stared at it. Dumbledore looked eager. As soon as the box was placed in front of him, he withdrew a brass key from a bracelet on his wrist and clicked the lock open. The lid opened towards the captivated audience, not allowing them to see a thing until Dumbledore lifted whatever it was out into the open. Even Lily found herself discretely craning her neck to maybe see something, but nothing came of it.  
  
Dumbledore placed a hand itno the box.  
  
"I present the impartial judge, the Goblet of Fire."  
  
And his hands brought out a battered wooden cup. James snickered quietly, before he saw the blue flames dancing around the rim.   
  
"The Goblet will be placed in the Entrance Hall, and those eligible will be able to submit their names within the next 24 hours. Tomorrow night it will present us with the three names of each school champion. And now, we will retire to bed."  
  
Lily's eyes shot over to the Hufflepuff table, where she had seen the Beauxbatons boy seated. He was talking with his friends in rapid French. He looked up at her suddenly, smiled. Lily looked away, feeling stupid. She chanced to look back, however, and saw that his friends were now looking at her. They turned away when the boy said something to them. They all laughed, making him roll his eyes. He winked - winked - at her before turning away with them.  
  
"Made a friend, have you?" said James. Lily looked at him, embarassed. She folded up her napkin and tossed it onto her plate.  
  
"That's none of your business," she said matter-of-factly.  
  
James laughed. It was cut short, however.  
  
"Excuse me. Haff you knowledge of wherr is library?"  
  
James whirled around, and looked at the girl from Durmstrang he had met earlier, clutching her robe over her forearms. He was momentarily speechless. He could see Lily put her elbow on the table and rest her head on her hand, looking mildly interested and amused.  
  
"I - it's just upstairs." he said, turning back into his suave character. The girl smiled.  
  
"You must take me therr someday."  
  
"Sure -?"  
  
"Anya."  
  
"Sure Anya. James Potter." he said, extending his hand. She took it, smiling.   
  
"I shall see you tomorrow, James Potter." she said in a heavy accent. Lily stifled a laugh. It sounded as if she had called him 'Jums'.   
  
The girl walked away, meeting her friends at the doors. Her brown hair bounced in its ponytail as she walked.  
  
"Made a friend, have you?" Lily taunted.  
  
"At least she came up to me. Yours ran away early on. Smart man."  
  
"He's got a mysterious side, unlike a lot of guys around here, who give away all they've got within five minutes."  
  
"Are you trying to say something Evans?"  
  
"Should I be specific and call you pathetic, or do you want me to leave my statement open to interpretation?"  
  
"You're just miffed because you can't have any of what I'm showcasing."  
  
"What's with you and avoiding the point of an arguement?"  
  
"I don't avoid it, I'd rather talk about something that's important to me."  
  
"Ugh, you just refuse to accept the fact that not every girl in this castle has an infatuation over you!"  
  
"That's not true!"  
  
"Yes it is - and you hate that, don't you?"  
  
"You yourself don't represent the entire female population, so stop the supremacy act."  
  
"Supremacy act? What are you on about?"  
  
James rolled his eyes while simultaneously throwing his arms in the air.  
  
"Have it your way. Once you're done scolding my ego, you may want to deflate yours."  
  
He got up from his seat and stuffed his hands in his pockets before stalking off. Lily wanted to go up to her dorm, but it was right beside his, and she didn't want to be one step behind him on the way. After waiting only a few minutes, she decided to leave.  
  
On her way upstairs, she saw the Goblet sitting on a pedastal in the center of the entranceway. A few students were walking away from it, having just submitted their names. She again saw the boy from Beauxbatons, scrawling his name on a slip of parchment beside the Goblet. She bit her lip, and went back downstairs.  
  
Her shoes clacked quietly on the marble floors. He looked up.  
  
"Bonsoir." he said, smiling that cute smile.  
  
Lily's mouth opened and shut again. She nodded slightly. He folded up his parchment and dropped it into the Goblet.  
  
"Zere. I hope ze Goblet is a smart Goblet."  
  
Lily laughed. She tried to look busy with writing her name on the parchment. He looked over her shoulder.  
  
"Hello, Lily Evans.My name iz Emanuel Gerard."  
  
"Hi."  
  
They both stared at each other for a while. His smile widened, and he tipped an imaginary hat before walking past her on his way out.  
  
"Emanuel!" Lily heard herself exclaim.  
  
He turned around.  
  
"Bonne chance." she said.  
  
"Ze same to you, Lily."  
  
They left each other then, Lily still clutching her slip of parchment, the Goblet still dancing with flame. 


	3. Chapter Three

Landslide 3  
  
Lily couldn't sleep a wink that night. The slip of parchment with her name on it was still sitting on her bedside table, just staring back at her. Taunting her. Lily's conscious would have given it a voice if she hadn't snatched it up at that moment.  
  
'Lily Evans, Hogwarts'  
  
'That's it.' she thought. 'I'm doing it.'  
  
Lily threw back the covers and jumped out of bed. She was so concentrated on getting to the Entrance that she forgot she was still in her pyjamas and bare feet. She crept out of the portrait hole and into the hallway. As she passed a giant grandfather clock, it chimed loudly twice. Lily almost jumped out of her skin. She almost ran back to her room, but calmed down.  
  
"It's a clock," she whispered to herself. "It's allowed to do that."  
  
It was quite a walk from her dorm to the entrance, about eight floors. She remembered the creaky stairs, the stairs that were only pretending, and the ones that moved. The last ones, the grand staircase, were marble. Lily cursed inwardly at forgetting her socks. She was also quite freezing, wearing only a navy t -shirt and boxer shorts. She ran down the staircase on her frozen toes, thankful at least for the silence. She rounded a marble statue at the bottom, heading for the Goblet, when she saw him.  
  
Lily turned on a dime and hid behind the statue. Maybe he wouldn't see her. Well, that was stupid, of course he would. She was coming up with ideas of how to escape, each more idiotic than the last.   
  
James dropped his name into the goblet, and stood watching the dancing flames for a moment.   
  
"That's it." he said quietly to himself. "God speed, little one."  
  
He turned to leave, adjusting his glasses and checking his watch. He rounded the corner of the statue, and bumped right into Lily.  
  
"Christ," he said. And then "- Evans?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Lily could see his eyes looking her up and down.  
  
"Spying on me?" he said, crossing his arms.  
  
"You wish someone would be that intrigued."  
  
"Hmm. Why else would you be down here?"  
  
Lily moved her hand behind her back, but when she had tightened her grip, the parchment crinkled.  
  
"Oh," he said, "I see."  
  
"Just get out of my way."  
  
He stepped past her with a slight bow. She didn't move.   
  
"Still won't do it, eh?"  
  
But Lily had already left his side. She strode up to the goblet, held out her parchment, trying to flatten it out, and dropped it into the flaming cup.  
  
"Please," was all she said.   
  
When she walked back up to James, he was putting a roll of parchment back into a pocket of his robes.   
  
"Nice pj's."  
  
Lily narrowed her eyes.  
  
"Good night." she said firmly. She rolled her eyes when he reappeared beside her on the stairs.  
  
"What? What other way would I go?"  
  
"Fine, just - just don't talk."  
  
"Mmm - hmm."  
  
Lily quickened her pace up the stairs, not wanting her feet to go competely numb on these floors. James, however, took it as a race, and was soon beside her again, if not ahead of her. Lily caught on, and started jumping stairs two at a time.  
  
The two of them were soon racing up the stairs, neck and neck. They continued down the hallways, James surprised at her ability to keep up. After all, he was the Quidditch captain and generally athletic. They ran around a corner - skidding to a halt when they saw Argus Filch walking up towards them with his ancient cat. James grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her back around the corner.  
  
They desperately looked for a place to hide, but there was nothing more than a few statues. They were forced to check the doors, finding them all locked. James took out his wand, and muttered 'Alohomora'. The lock sprang open, and they bolted inside. Lily clicked the lock of the door once it closed behind her. She ran to a far corner of the pitch black room, using the walls as her guide. She bumped into James there, and they both sat on the ground.   
  
"D'you think he saw us?"  
  
"No, no he was looking at the portraits."  
  
"But the cat -"  
  
"I didn't see."  
  
"Where are you?"   
  
"Right beside you, you're sitting on my robe!"  
  
"Am not."  
  
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Lumos!"  
  
The light at the tip of his wand illuminated the dark corner of the classroom. There was a giant desk in front of them, and they could see a few desks just behind it.   
  
"See?"  
  
Lily whirled around to look at James. He was holding his robes up with his free hand.   
  
"Get off."  
  
Lily sighed imaptiently and pulled the robe out from under her. 'It's probably some expensive material paid for by his parents,' she thought.  
  
Suddenly they heard Filch's voice from the other side of the door.  
  
"What's that my sweet? Do you smell something?"  
  
Lily looked at James for a fleeting moment. "No way," she breathed.  
  
"It's a classroom, there's students piling in and out every day. How could the cat not smell something?" he whispered.  
  
Lily peered around the corner of the giant desk they were behind. She could see a sliver of light from the hallway, and the shadows of four feline legs going back and forth in front of the doorway. Suddenly the shadow stopped and enlarged.  
  
"The cat," she whispered to James. "It's sitting in front of the doorway."  
  
"What?" he mouthed. He craned his neck to see. It looked like it was.  
  
"Yes, Mrs. Norris. That's a charms classroom. I cleaned that room up already."  
  
There was a soft meow.  
  
"A mouse, eh? Now I know you want to catch it, but we're patrolling the halls now. We've got bigger fish to fry."  
  
Another meow.  
  
"Yes fish. You can have some when we get back to my office. Come on,"  
  
Lily concentrated on the shadow, willing it to move. 'Just go,' she thought.  
  
James was loving this. He might actually get away with sneaking around the halls at night. And even without his cloak! Sirius would have to hear about this one. Especially if he was picked as school champion.  
  
That was when both students and caretaker heard the scratch of Mrs. Norris' claws on the oak door.  
  
"Mrs. Norris! Bad cat! No - scratching!"  
  
With the last words, the shadow was swept off the floor, and Lily got her breath back.  
  
A click was heard in the lock and the door to the classroom creaked open slightly.   
  
"F-" James started, but Lily clamped a hand over his mouth. She used her other hand to cover the flames at the end of the tip.  
  
Lily chanced to look back around the corner of the desk. Filch's head was in the classroom, looking about.  
  
"See?" he said, stepping inside. Lily could see the cat sitting on his shoulders. "I already cleaned this place. But now we have to tend to this door you mangled. Come on, there's a bottle of Cleaner in my closet. Let's go."  
  
He closed the door behind him, and Lily waited until his footsteps died away until she started breathing again.  
  
She realized that her hand was still on James' mouth, and removed it quickly, wiping it on the side of her shorts. Lily removed her hand from his wand. The magi flames didn't leave her burned, but her hand was still rather hot. She looked at James, and he was about to pull the same piece of parchment out of his pocket like he had before, but he saw her watching, and stopped. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve.   
  
"What's that?" she asked.  
  
"Nothing that concerns you."  
  
"Well why are you walking around with a bit of old parchment?"  
  
"It isn't a bit of old parchment, it's very - no, NO, I'm not telling you. Don't do that."  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"That thing you do."  
  
"What thing?!" Lily said, staring to get annoyed.  
  
"That THING you DO."  
  
"Wow, Potter. Very articulate."  
  
"You can talk all you want but I'm not showing you the map."  
  
"What map?"  
  
"Map?"  
  
"That's what you said."  
  
James gulped. "Did not."  
  
"Did too."  
  
"Did not."  
  
"Did too!"  
  
"No,"  
  
"Yes,"  
  
"No,"  
  
"Oh, fine! I'm not going to sit here and argue with you all night. I'm leaving before Filch comes back."  
  
Lily got to her feet and stormed off. She emerged in the hallway, checking for Filch or his stupid cat. James came out after her, looking relaxed.   
  
"I know which way he went." he said in a know-it-all tone.  
  
"How very interesting. I don't care which way he went, so long as I don't bump into him again."  
  
"Fine. Good night, Evans."  
  
"Hmph."  
  
Lily was momentarily confused by James heading in the opposite direction of their dorms. She hesitated, before catching up with him.  
  
He raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Can I help you?"  
  
"I decided to take the long way back."  
  
'That and I don't trust you,' she thought.  
  
"That and you don't trust me. Well, fine. Tag along."  
  
Lily crossed her arms and walked beside him. It was a few minutes later that Lily spoke.  
  
"Who else put their names in for the tournament?"  
  
James smiled to himself.   
  
"Anya did."   
  
"So did Emanuel."  
  
"Emanuel?"  
  
"Yes. He's from Beauxbatons. I believe you called him 'smart'."  
  
"Hmm - Oh, right, right. Him. Are you stalking him now too?"  
  
"No, Potter, for your information, we had a nice conversation when he was putting his name in the Goblet."  
  
"Really? Wow, how interesting."   
  
James slowed down.  
  
"At the goblet, you say?"  
  
Lily could see where this was going.  
  
"Yes. What of it?"  
  
"Why didn't you put your name in then? Why now, why at two a.m.?"  
  
"I could ask you the same question. One would think you'd be the first to put your name in."  
  
"I had other things to do first. I have a social life, you know."  
  
"Oh," Lily slapped her head in fake exclamation. "I completely forgot about that. What was it today, signing autographs?"  
  
"Y'know, you're just jealous of me being just as smart as you are with half the effort. I have the time to talk to others when you have your head stuck in a book every waking minute."  
  
"I like my books! And I choose to study, I'm not forced to do so because I'm not smart."  
  
"But that's it," he said, "You choose to study! No one needs to memorise the textbooks back to front!"  
  
"I want to!"  
  
"Why? So that you can be better than everyone in your classes?"  
  
"No, Potter. I choose to study because I like studying. I'm someone who actually likes getting good grades for my efforts!"  
  
"Bravo for that, but why do you rub it in everyone's faces that you're top of the class?"  
  
"I dont!"  
  
"Right. So everyone just calls you smug for nothing."  
  
"What?"  
  
"A lot of people notice the self - righteousness."  
  
Lily felt an ice cube drop into her stomach. He was such a liar. She wasn't smug ... was she?  
  
"I - I'm not."  
  
"Oh, sure. Evans, you're the standard teacher's pet, A+ student, goody two - shoes, stuck up, obnoxious and undesirable to everyone except foreigners - Head Girl."  
  
James looked down at her, not knowing that his words had cut deeply into her. Lily's eyes were stinging, and the ice cube was beginning to sizzle inside of her. At once the face of her sister swam in front of her.   
  
'You're a revolting freak of nature, and you better remember that.'  
  
Lily found herself almost shaking with surpressed anger. Enough was enough.  
  
"And you're the egotistical, permiscuous skirt - chasing, A+ student, resident immature wonderboy. I hate you!"  
  
Lily turned around and ran, as fast as her feet could carry her. Her feet were pounding the floor as she went, pretending that every step was upon James' face. She hated him, she hated her sister. She wanted to scream as loud as she could, but she didn't. She just kept running faster and faster until her legs screamed out in protest.   
  
Once she made it back to her dorm, she ran inside and collapsed onto the bed, feeling as if her lungs would burst. She sat up again, and slammed her fist into one of her pillows. That wasn't enough. She sprang up from the bed and started pacing around the room, desperate for something to take her mind off of things.  
  
At once she found herself at her desk, opening up a thick, leather bound book. She hadn't read a page before the book was slammed shut.   
  
Lily rested her elbows on her knees, and buried her head in her hands. Her stubborn nature ebbed, and hot tears spilled from her eyes. Why was it that James Potter was the only one that got to her?  
  
*  
  
James stood dumbstruck after Lily had left. His heart was beating unnaturally fast, as if he had been running. He re-adjusted his glasses, even though they didn't need fixing. Why was it that she was the only one that got to him like thast?  
  
And she hated him? Yeah, well, he hated her too.  
  
*  
  
Lily arrived on time to dinner the next day. Dumbledore smiled at her as she took her spot at the head table.  
  
"Good luck to you both." he said. Lily knew James was beside her, but she had long since decided that she wasn't talking to him.  
  
As the hall became full, and the entrance doors slowly began to close, Dumbledore stood, expecting silence.  
  
"Welcome, again. Tonight we celebrate both Halloween and the choosing of the three school champions for the Triwizard Tournament. Before the Feast and celebrations commence, I will be reading out the champion's names. Oce your name has been called, please rise from your seat and proceed towards the door to your right. May I have the Goblet?"  
  
Filch brought forth the Goblet, and Dumbledore raised it high above his head before placing it down on the table in front of him. Lily was sure that it was just her imagination, but the lights seemed to dim. There was no mistake, however, that the flames on the Goblet had grown brighter. She - and every other face in the hall - didn't take her eyes off of it. Dumbledore clasped his hands together and waited patiently.  
  
About a minute's silence passed, in which the Goblet did nothing. The students began to look at one another in confusion, but Dumbledore remained unfazed.   
  
Suddenly the dancing flames turned a deep red colour, and with a whip-like sound, a puff of smoke rose from the Goblet. Dumbledore reached his hand into the smoke, and withdrew a slip of parchment.  
  
"The Champion for Durmstrang School is - Anya Tvyrnn."  
  
The girl, Anya, rose from her seat at the Hufflepuff table, looking ecstatic at the loud applause she was getting. She almost skipped to the front table, waving childishly at James, before dissapearing through the door.  
  
As soon as the door closed, the applause went mute, and attention again went back to the Goblet, which had turned red once more.  
  
Dumbledore pulled the next piece of parchment from the smoke, and read,  
  
"The Champion for Beauxbatons, is Marc Injuste."  
  
Lily craned her neck to see this boy named Marc get up from the Ravenclaw table. He had been sitting right next to Emanuel. It must have been her eyesight at that moment, but Emanuel had an incomprehensible look on his face. She quickly decided that it was in fact her eyes playing tricks on her. There was no way a face like that could look so foul.  
  
Lily knew what was coming next. The Hogwarts Champion. After Marc had disappeared too, the applause went so deadly quiet that you could have heard a pin drop from upstairs.   
  
The Goblet turned red for the last time, and the puff of smoke rose into the air. Her heart was beating unnaturally against her ribcage. She chanced a look at James, who was staring intently at Dumbledore.   
  
'Let it be him,' she prayed, 'Just let it be him.'  
  
Her heartbeat became the only thing she could hear after a moment. She could see Dumbledore's lips move, but she didn't hear a word of it.  
  
'Let it be him,'  
  
An almighty roar erupted from the students in the hall. Everyone was on their feet, cheering and clapping.   
  
'Thank god,' she thought. 'His applause will always be louder.' She turned to face James.  
  
"Con-"she started, but he cut her off.  
  
His eyes were narrowed.  
  
"Congratulations Evans." he said, extending his hand. 


	4. Chapter Four

Landslide 4  
  
Lily stared at James, not taking his hand. Her mouth opened and quivered as she tried to force words out of her mouth. His hand dropped after a moment. James shook his head slightly in disbelief as he looked over the crowd. Lily looked out at them too, still cheering and jumping out of their seats. She then looked at Dumbledore, who was smiling warmly, and finally back to the Goblet.  
  
There was a final ripple of blue flames, and then the fire extinguished completely. Madame Pomfrey patted her gently on the arm.   
  
"Through the door, Ms. Evans."  
  
Lily got up from her chair slowly and made her way to the end of the table. She looked out over the hall again, giving them a weak smile, and dissapeared.  
  
Lily shut the door behind her and looked around the small room she was now in. It was nothing special, save a fireplace and a few chairs.   
  
Along with the two other champions, Mr. Warrick and Mrs. Johanssen were there, talking quietly to themselves. When Lily had entered, they looked up at her and said their congratulations. Dumbledore came in shortly afterwards, and everyone sat down.   
  
The minister, Mr. Frank Warrick, stood from his seat and adjusted his tie.  
  
"Congratulations to you three on becoming school Champions. In addition to completing the three tasks throughout the year, you are exempted from the end-of-year exams, as well as unlimited time in the library, including after-hours. This tournament is not to be taken lightly. Each task will be open to interpretation, and it is up to you to complete it the best way you see fit. The Hogwarts student body, as well as the students from both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons will be there to cheer you on at each task. As champion, you are not allowed to ask for help from friends, nor from teachers or the Headmaster. Your name has been drawn from the Goblet, and you are therefore bound by magical contract to participate in all of the three tasks, come hell or -"  
  
Mrs. Johanssen gave him a stern look.  
  
" - come what may." he finished. "Wilhemina, would you like to give them their first task?"  
  
"Yes. Right then, it is important for every wizard to be able to problem solve in sometimes hectic situations. It is even harder when we do not know what is coming, and yet sometimes the hardest when we do. Therefore, we will tell you of only half the task. On November the twenty-third, at precisely 12:00 noon, Durmstrang's ship will sink to the bottom of the Hogwarts lake. You will get to the ship under supervision, and we will be providing your air supply. Any further instructions will be given to you once you reach the bottom."  
  
"You are all now excused back to the Great Hall to join in the Halloween feast. Good luck to you all, and we'll see you at the lake in November."  
  
Lilys head was spinning. She would have happily agreed to do the task, but to do it in front of the whole school? She knew something would go wrong with so many watching.  
  
Once everyone had re-entered the hall, the applause broke out again. Lily shakily took her seat. James was pushing his food around his plate, not eating anything. Lily stared at him for a moment, pleading internally that she could think of something nice to say to him.  
  
"James?"  
  
He dropped his fork and threw his napkin on his plate.  
  
"I'm going to eat with my friends today." he said angrily. Lily watched his back for a moment. She looked down the table at Dumbledore, who was also watching him go. She got out of her seat and approached him.  
  
"Excuse me, Headmaster? Could I have a word with you?"  
  
"Of course. What ails you?"  
  
Lily sat down in the empty seat beside him, which had been vacated by Professor McGonagall as she went to investigate a small commotion.  
  
"It's about the Goblet."  
  
"Go on."  
  
"Do you - are you sure that there wasn't a mistake?"  
  
"A mistake?"  
  
"Yes. Are you positive it was my name on the parchment?"  
  
Dumbledore reached inside his pocket, and took out three slips of paper. He flicked through them, and handed one to Lily.   
  
She knew, before even flipping it over to reveal the name, that it was hers. It was crinkled. She looked at her name again anyways, and sighed.  
  
"Do not be troubled by Mr. Potter's reaction."  
  
"I'm sorry?"  
  
Dumbledore turned in his chair more to face Lily.  
  
"The Goblet chose you as Champion because you were meant to compete in the Tournament. And I have faith that he will not remain bothered by this for long. All you need to worry about is completing each task as best as you can."  
  
Dumbledore saw Lily look out at the students.   
  
"Do this for yourself, and not for the school. You are the Champion, not them."  
  
"But they're counting on me to win." she said in more of a whisper than she expected.  
  
"They believe in you."  
  
'Not all of them.' she thought, looking at James.  
  
"Thank you Professor."  
  
"You are very welcome."  
  
Lily got up from her seat, not at all hungry anymore. She left the hall, which took so much longer with everyone asking her questions or congratulating her.  
  
Instead of going to her dorm, she hung a right an went to the library. She had a thought to borrow a book on underwater life.  
  
*  
  
James was so angry after the feast. Why wasn't it him that had been named Champion? And Evans? Evans?! She was conceited enough as it was, and now she had Champion beside her name.   
  
He also hadn't eaten much. Nothing looked appetizing in front of him, no matter where he sat. Sirius, Remus and Peter were also upset at not being chosen, but they were more worried about their friend, who seemed to be taking it a bit more to heart than he should have.  
  
"So who's up for searching for more passages?" Sirius asked.  
  
"No thanks," James said, although the others looked mildly interested.  
  
"James, this isn't a big deal. You're still Head Boy, that's something." Remus offered.  
  
"Mm."  
  
"Come on. Prank on Snape?"  
  
"No, no, I think I'll just go up to bed. I'll see you guys tomorrow in class."  
  
"James?" Peter said.  
  
He paused as he got out of his seat.  
  
"I think you should have been picked."  
  
James' face broke into a grin in spite of himself.  
  
"Thanks, Wormtail."  
  
James left, waving off a few girls that had jumped up to comfort him.  
  
Sirius looked at Peter, who was busy shovelling food into his mouth, looking unpreturbed.  
  
"Pete?"  
  
Peter looked halfway up from his plate.  
  
"You're making the rest of us look bad." he said, grinning.  
  
Peter smiled, shrugged his shoulders, and started eating again.  
  
*  
  
James made his way up the stairways and hallways. A few more girls stopped him on the way, but he barely said anything to them. They looked disappointed, but he plastered his infamous grin on his face and they broke into fits of giggles.  
  
He made his way around a corner, and bumped right into someone, knocking them both over.  
  
"Sorry," James said, adjusting his glasses. "Oh,"  
  
Lily pushed her hair out of her face, and tried to get up. All of the books she had been carrying had toppled to the floor.  
  
"Sorry,"she said. "M - my fault."  
  
"I thought the library was closed," he said, picking up a book and flipping through the pages.  
  
"I have special priveleges." she said, piling the 8 or so books into her hands. She was saying it more to herself, but James overheard. Lily jumped as the sharp bang of a book slammed shut.  
  
"I'm sorry you're dissapointed," Lily said, leaning all the books into one arm and holding out the other for the book James had.  
  
"Understatement. Found in rivers or streams, feeds mainly on poor judgements and has a tendency to be weak."  
  
"Ha ha. Could I have my book?"  
  
James dropped the book on the top of the pile, ignoring her outstretched hand. Lily teetered, but managed to not frop anything. He left, going back the way he had come. Lily turned around and did the same. She too favoured taking a long route back to her dorm.   
  
*  
  
James awoke late, albeit in a better mood, although still miffed. He got dressed quickly, and, blessing his speed, ran to his Transfiguration class.   
  
"Mr. Potter," tutted Professor McGonagall. "Late again? I'll overlook it this once, but don't let it happen again."  
  
McGonagall had a certain soft spot for her best student, although James still managed to get 3 detentions a week in that class alone. He made his way to the back of the classroom, and dropped his books onto the table. Sirius shook his head.  
  
"5 times late," he whispered to James, who was taking his wand out of his pocket. "You'll beat your own record soon."  
  
"Now then, today we will be transfiguring these footballs into Puffskeins. I will deduct marks if the transfigured creature remains with black spots. The spell is located on page 546 of your texts, and please answer the questions on the board to hand in for tomorrows class. You may begin."  
  
A football magically appeared in front of each student. Lily flipped open her texbook and was about to try the incantation, when a ball suddenly bounced off the back of her head. Or no, it was a Puffskein. She whirled arouns, amid hushed giggles and whispers.  
  
James was sitting at his desk, no ball nor puffskien in sight. He was quietly starting his homework, acting as if nothing had happened. Lily turned back to her work, her quill scratching with more pressure than needed, against the parchment.  
  
And again the same thing happened. A transfigured ball had hit her in the back of the head. She whirled around, now to laughter, and saw that Sirius' project was also missing. He, however, was talking straight-faced at James. Lily looked for where McGonagall was, and saw that she was outside speaking to Professor Flitwick. She dove underneath her desk, and grabbed the nearest puffskien. She got up again and hurled it towards James, hitting it square between the eyes.  
  
A low "oooh," came from the other students.  
  
James looked angrily at Lily, and picked up his wand. Lily picked up another creature.  
  
McGonagall came in just as a puffskien and a hex went flying in opposite directions. She knew immediately by James' aggrivated grunt and Lily's sharp intake of breath what had happened.  
  
"The two of you - outside - now!"  
  
The class was whispering as they both got silently out of thier seats, and pointing to Lily's green hair. McGonagall closed the door behind her, and looked down at them with a severe expression.  
  
"As Head Boy and Girl, - and school Champion," she added, smiling momentarily at Lily (James scowled), "You need to set an example for all other students. I do not take class disruption lightly, and I'm afraid that I will be assigning the both of you detention, as well as 5 points from Gryffindor for the both of you."  
  
McGonagall took out her wand and Lily's hair was soon back to it's original auburn. Now her hair matched her angry demeanor. For 6 straight years, she hadn't gotten a detention once. And now - ugh, she was so mad.  
  
*  
  
The rest of the week flew past, Lily dreading the upcoming detention the whole time. At least it would be served in the Library, but how many things could you do in the library as punishment?  
  
She opened the doors to the library at exactly 12:00 noon. The rest of the school had left an hour earlier for Hogsmede, and wouldn't be arriving back until after dinner. There were only a few first and second years in the library at this time.   
  
Lily made her way up to the circulation desk, where she saw Madame Pince waiting patiently with James.  
  
"Lily! There you are! How's my bookworm champion?"  
  
Lily didn't look at James, and for good reason. His face wore the expression as if he'd stepped in something foul.  
  
She chose instead to just smile weakly and nodd.  
  
"So what's on the agenda?" James asked.  
  
"Oh, right right. Well, there's about 26 boxes in that room over there, full of overdue slips. You need to throw out the old ones and organize the others into piles according to House and year. Then just distribute them to the Heads of Houses. That's it, you can go start now."  
  
She waved them away, burying her nose in 'Charms that Don't (Or at least Shouldn't) Backfire'.  
  
Lily and James had been organizing and magicking away hundreds of overdue slips for the past two hours, and they werejust about done. A sudden hiss and swear shot across the room. Lily got up quickly from her place on the floor and went to investigate.  
  
"What happened?" She asked, finding James holding his finger so hard his knuckles were white.  
  
"Nothing Evans, it's a paper cut."  
  
"Ouch. Need a bandaid?" she soothed.  
  
"Just pass me my wand." he said, frustrated.  
  
Lily handed him his wand from the table. He tried to grab it, but couldn't let go of his finger to manage it.  
  
"Urgh, move -" he ordered, trying to stand up.  
  
"Oh, let me." she said, taking out her wand and sitting beside him. He narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Not likely."  
  
"It's a stupid paper cut, I can mend it as soon as anything."  
  
"I don't need your help."  
  
"Why are you being so stubborn?"  
  
"I'm not stubborn, I can just -"  
  
Lily grabbed his hand and waved her wand.  
  
"Mendus,"  
  
A shot of white came out of her wand and onto the tip of his finger. The blood disappeared, the cut had closed.  
  
"See?"  
  
James pulled his hand back.  
  
"Why do you always do that? I said I was fine on my own, and there you go - doing it anyways."  
  
"You weren't able to do it by yourself,"  
  
"I would have if you'd have minded your own business."  
  
Lily stared at him for a moment.  
  
"Why are you so angry?"  
  
"I'm not angry!" he said loudly, getting up. She got to her feet too.  
  
"Then you're jealous!"  
  
"Why the hell would I be jealous?"  
  
They were both yelling at each other now.  
  
"You wanted to be champion, but I got it instead. That makes you jealous!"  
  
"I'm not! As soon as I act upset, you think I envy you!"  
  
"That's because you're always mad at whatever I do!"  
  
"Not true!"  
  
"Yes it is! I never hear a 'Good Job' or a - sincere - 'Congratulations'. You're always pissed off!"  
  
"So I need to praise you all the time?"  
  
"NO!" Lily yelled, her eyes stinging. 'Don't cry, not now - not now.'  
  
"THEN WHAT?" he yelled back. The two were right in each other's face.  
  
"JUST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I'M THERE!"  
  
"I ALREADY DO THAT!"  
  
"How?! By making me feel guilty? Making me angry, annoyed, upset, or confused?"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Then how?"  
  
James had the sudden impulse to do something that was confusing enough for the both of them, but -  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he frustratingly yelled in her face.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" she yelled back.  
  
They stared blankly at each other for a moment, then quickly turned away to hide their amused faces. Lily picked up the few boxes of organized overdue slips and took them to the librarian. James did the same. They couldn't look at each other the entire time, and didn't speak at all for weeks to come. When they had turned away from each other, it had looked like one was still upset at the other, and that's what they believed.  
  
But by this time Lily had 'bigger fish to fry' (in the words of Argus Filch).  
  
The first task was tomorrow. 


	5. Chapter Five

Landslide :: 5 ::  
  
Why is it that whenever we know that we absolutely need sleep, we can never get it? One could never fall asleep knowing that they had to, or that they must. It was ridiculous. Lily thought it was absolutely ridiculous.   
  
She was staring blankly at her canopy, thinking of any way she could drift off to sleep within the next few minutes. But she felt so awake that the act soon was labelled impossible. She turned on her side, scrunching her pillow up under her head, and looked at her clock.  
  
Three a.m.. Lily wanted to cry when she saw the time. How was she supposed to complete the task if she couldn't keep her eyes open later?  
  
And the task. She could already feel hundreds of eyes bearing down on her, expectant. She could hear them talking, but when she invisioned herself failing, the words turned to bitter whispers, howls of laughter, pointed fingers and utter dissapointment. Lily flipped over and shoved her face into her pillow, ready to scream, but it never came.  
  
"Damn it."she said under her breath. Ultimately, Lily decided to get out of bed and go read a book. If that didn't put her to bed, at least she would be studying. She went into her study area and pulled out books upon books, not looking twice at what was on the cover before she let them fall with a loud thud on her desk, causing a few wisps of dust to curl outwards and float away.  
  
Lily twirled the seat around and sat cross-legged upon it. She pulled on the top book from the pile, and let it fall open in her lap.  
  
November 24th, 1889 ~ Account of the previous month, as written by Olive Whittaker, Hogwarts Head Girl  
  
I hate to be saying that it is so, but much has been happening lately within my mind. I have felt that it needed to be recorded, and in what better place than the Head Girl's Book of the Ages. As many have written before me, the love of this school, our Hogwarts, has prompted the beginnings of this book, and its fillings of the tales and forthright emotions of the predecessors and those Heads yet to be appointed. The mass of students, myself included, know very well about the secrets and magical goings on within the school, and are reminded time and time again by our teachers and Headmaster. I never would have believed someone who said that there was more to it than what we knew. It was by complete accident that I stumbled across this room.  
And what a room indeed. Arched celings, a mosaic of cobblestones on the floor, and - this will sound awkward, i'm sure, but - a staircase, winding slightly, that ended up leading to a brick wall. It's presence gave the impression that it had stood there for years, blanketed by dust. Of course I went up the stairs, how could I not? Being the only thing in this room, it merited an inspection. I believe I counted 57 stairs before I reached the brisk wall. I needs blame it on my childish curiosity that I began pushing certain bricks with the palm of my hand, expecting one to give way and reveal something meaningful.  
But nothing.  
I had tried almost every brick that was in my power to reach, but nothing came of it. After I accepted this defeat, I descended back down the stairs in dissapointment.  
That was what happened. That was what kept my mind racing until I eventually forgot about it a few months later. I could never remember how to get back to that room either. Like I had previously stated, I happened upon it by chance. I was trying to get back to the Head Girl dorm after dinner one night, and somehow got in that room.  
What was it? Was there a point to its existance? Was I meant to find this room, or was someone else? Was I the first to find it, or were there others? What would happen in the future?  
I hadn't an idea.  
  
O. Whittaker, Head Girl, Hogwarts School 1882-1889  
  
Lily realized her eyes were as round as saucers. She slammed the book shut and looked at the cover.  
  
'Book Of The Ages, Head Girl Edition'  
  
"Oh my god," she whispered. Lily realized that there was a scarlet ribbon marking a place in the last third of the enormous book. She opened it to that page, seeing that it was blank. Her eyes narrowed, and she looked back a page. Another entry, dated 1975. That was last year. And if she knew her predecessors ... yes! It was signed by Angeline Forester.  
  
Lily felt like a wave of exhileration had struck her senseless. She looked at pages and pages of entries, some much longer than others. It was a sort of diary, she reasoned. And the first entry was dated exactly 7 years after Hogwarts became a school. Every Head Girl in it's history had left there mark here. Lily felt suddenly prouder than she had ever been to have this title. She also was dumbstruck at the fact that she had never known it was there. Had they forgotten to tell her? Or was it generally expected that she find something of the sort?   
  
She knew of another book, which she had only signed her name in along with James that Dumbledore had kept. That was a registry of all Head Girls and Boys that he kept for reference, "but it's also tradition.".  
  
Lily glanced at her watch. 4:02. Wanting desperately to read this book, and equally wanting to get some sleep, her responsibility got the winning vote. She closed the book and heaved it back on the shelf where she had pulled it from, replacing the rest of the books as well. As she got back into bed, she made a mental note to ask James if he had a similar 'Book of the Ages'. Then she remembered that she wasn't talking to him.  
  
And she finally fell asleep, her brain exhausted with thoughts of the room that the girl had described.  
  
*  
  
The familiar buzz of his alarm clock went off at exactly 7:00. James rolled over to turn it off, and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. His arm reached out for his glasses, and suddenly everything came back into focus. He wasn't completely blind without them, but he hated squinting all the time to see the boards at the front of the class. And since him and his friends always sat at the back of each class, not having them wasn't an option. And they made him look smarter, although he was already top of the year.  
  
Well, top of the year alongside Evans. Another thought surfaced in his brain, and he wondered why he hadn't remembered earlier. The task. Ugh, Dumbledore said he needed his help in it, although James hadn't a clue what for. He got out of bed, searching through his dresser for a clean shirt. He found one eventually, and pulled it on over his navy t-shirt. After he found his uniform sweater and pants, he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He looked in the mirror while doing so, noticing for the billionth time during his life that his hair was messy.  
  
He spat the foam from his mouth and wiped his chin with the back of his hand. There was no use trying to pull a brush through it. He'd made that mistake a while ago, and the handle broke. But he really didn't have a problem with his hair. A lot of girls were attracted to it, and he got tons of comments that it was 'cute'. Anya suggested tha he should just cut it shorter like all the other guys out there.  
  
"Bah," he said aloud to his reflection.  
  
He went back out into his room and found his runners. He had them for ages, but he wasn't about to get rid of them, just when they'd become comfortable.  
  
James was out of his dorm by eight o'clock. He left his schoolbag and cloak behind, since he was exempted from classes that day to help out.  
  
Just as the portrait swung shut behind him, the portrait to his left opened, and Lily came out. She noticed he was standing there and jumped a bit.  
  
"Morning," she said, walking past him. The question of 'Do you know about the book?' was burning a hole in her mind, but she didn't want to argue this morning.  
  
"Morning," he replied. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked wordlessly beside her. Lily thought it was odd to not have some catty comment come out of him for once. But he also wasn't talking, so she decided that it would be best if she just did the same.  
  
Anyone in the halls at this time would have had a heart attack to see the Head Boy and Girl walking together without bickering. Then again, most were probably either asleep or just waking up.  
  
They were about 10 minutes from the Great Hall when Lily suddenly spoke out.  
  
"Would you be nervous if you had to do the task?"  
  
James looked at her. She was staring ahead, as if she hadn't said a thing.  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
"Really?" Lily said, now looking at him, but he had long since looked away.  
  
"I'd look at it like I would a Quidditch match. It's just a game."  
  
"Oh."  
  
They were silent again for a while.  
  
"But if you don't know what's coming?"  
  
James looked at her, and found that she was looking at him. She turned away sharply.  
  
"N- never mind."  
  
They didn't speak again, even when they sat down to breakfast. The teachers piled in, some still rubbing their tired eyes or yawning. They all smiled at Lily, telling her good luck, and all sorts of comforting comments. As the morning throng of students ambled into the Hall, she wiped her mouth with her napkin and excused herself from the table. McGonagall was speaking to Filch (who looked distraught over something), and they were blocking the separate entrance that Lily had come in by. She cursed under her breath, and tried to quickly make a getaway through the main doors.  
  
No such luck.  
  
"Lily! Good luck Lily!"  
  
"What's the task?"  
  
"D'you know what the task is?"  
  
"Are you nervous?"  
  
"You have to win for us Lily!"  
  
"Evans! Get over here!"  
  
Lily turned around and saw her best friend Arabella Figg trying to push her way through the crowd towards her.  
  
"Oy, move it! - Out of the way! - To the side, junior -"  
  
Arabella was the complete opposite of Lily. Dark brown hair, brown eyes, a bit taller than she was, and quite popular. Lily envied the way she could walk into a room and act like she owned the place. Arabella was also Gryffindor's Seeker. Lily was an excellent flyer but she had been sick the week of tryouts. She smiled thankfully at Arabella, coming to her rescue.  
  
Arabella had managed to get closer to her, and Lily thought she was going to say something, but instead her hand was siezed and she was being pulled away from the mob.  
  
Once they had shaken off every student pestering Lily with questions, they finally ran out of the Hall.  
  
Arabella's face was red from yelling, and she sat down on the stairs in the Entrance Hall to recouperate.  
  
"I hate second years," she huffed. Lily laughed.  
  
"Hey -"  
  
"Don't take away points. I know you feel the same way."  
  
"Well, we were once second years too."  
  
"Shh-" Arabella said, grabbing Lily's arm and looking wildly around the hall. "They sense weakness,"  
  
"Ze sense, however, cannot permeate through stone."  
  
Lily looked up from laughing, and was staring at Emanuel. She stopped herself, and tried to ignore Arabella's elbow jabbing discreetly into her side.  
  
"Hi." she coughed out.  
  
"Hi."  
  
They stared at each other in silence. Arabella could have chiseled out a piece of Lily's ribs.  
  
"Can you show me where ze library izz?"  
  
Lily smiled, but looked down at the floor.  
  
"Uh, I c-"  
  
"She'd love to!" Arabella said, pushing Lily off the stairs. "She was just saying that she needed to go up there anyways. Isn't that a coincidence?"   
  
She eyed Lily, as if to say 'Don't screw this one up.'  
  
Lily looked at Emanuel.   
  
"It's this way," she said, turning to walk up the stairs. She couldn't see him, but she could hear his shoes thudding along behind her. Once they reached the top of the stairs, he came up beside her.  
  
"Are you nervuzz?"  
  
"Uhm, I - I am. A - a little."  
  
"Iz okay. Everyone izz like zis when zey must do somezing important."  
  
"Yeah, I guess so."  
  
"I have met ze boy from my academy. He iz nice, but I wish zat I could have won."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"C'est okay. I am happy to watch."  
  
Lily chanced to look at him, and found him looking at her, smiling. She turned away, hoping that her cheeks weren't noticably red.  
  
"We're here." she soon said, opening the door so quickly that there was a small gust of wind. The library was deserted.  
  
"Do you know where I find books about water creatures?"  
  
"Yes, I do. Over here."  
  
Lily began pulling books down out of the shelf.  
  
"Do you know specifically which kind of creature?"  
  
"No, just in general. Iz there such book?"  
  
"Yeah, it's like an encyclopedia - here it is - see look, all alphabetical order, and there's rating on how dangerous or safe they are, and it tells you if they're rare or-"  
  
Lily looked up from the open book in her hands, and saw that Emanuel was right in front of her.  
  
" -extinct." she finished. He smiled, and took the book from her hands.  
  
"I know how encyclopedia works." he said, patting her on the shoulder. He took her hand, and led her to a table.   
  
'Stupid, stupid, stupid.' Lily thought.  
  
"Which iz most dangerous?" he asked, sitting down across from her. Lily took the book and flipped it open. She was in her element.  
  
In no sooner than 14 seconds, she had found it.  
  
"Here," she said, "It's the Waverlus. 20 feet in length, it resembles a sea serpent, but with the legs of a centipede. On the legs are small suction cups similar to those of an octopus tentacle, but latch on to the skin of the prey and suck its blood. Its mouth is nothing but a gaping hole, through which the Waverlus will swallow the victim whole after consuming its blood supply. None have lived through an attack, but many will admit to witnessing one."  
  
Lily looked up, and saw that Emanuel was leaning on his arm, gazing intently at Lily.  
  
"Im sorry, but - what?"  
  
"Your voice iz very nice."  
  
Lily blushed scarlet.  
  
"T-thank you."  
  
"I want to azk you somezing. May I?"  
  
"Yes," Lily blurted out, hardly waiting for him to finish his sentence. He grinned.  
  
"Zere is no spell to defeat zis serpent?"  
  
Lily's heart sank.  
  
"I - I don't think so. None have lived through an attack, it said. But the legs are small, that might be a weak point."  
  
"Ah." He flipped through the book, looking interested. Lily watched him, before she gave up and stared out the window.  
  
"Might I go for a walk wiz you sometime, Lily Evans?"  
  
Lily's eyes shot back to him. He was still looking through the book, as if he hadn't spoken. Now it was her turn to grin.  
  
"I'd like that." She glanced at her watch. "Oh! But I've got to run, I'm supposed to be by the lake. I'll see you later!"  
  
Emanuel said goodbye and Lily ran like the wind for the lake. Moreover, she just ran to the library doors. Once she was outside, her face broke into a stupid grin. Arabella seemed to appear out of thin air.  
  
"Well?"  
  
Lily just turnd towards her friend and pointed to her smile.  
  
"Huh? OH. Oh wow! What did he say? Was there a kiss? Spill it Evans."  
  
Lily threw her arm around her friend's shoulders.  
  
"I'll never tell." was all she said. With that she took off again.  
  
"Oh, not a chance. Get back here! Back I say! Lil-AYY!"  
  
*  
  
James was frozen. Why the hell he agreed to do this was beyond him at this point. He was going to be there by the ship with about 6 other teachers, just in case something went wrong. Dumbledore had told him the necessary spells to maintain the peace, and James was capable of handling any hectic situation. There were medi-wizards on hand, and they would be at the edge of the water should anything happen to the Champions.  
  
At 20 mintes to noon, the front doors opened and the school came tumbling out in a giant black mass. The Champions were already in the tent, waiting to be called out to complete the task.  
  
James picked up a stone and threw it as far as he could out into the lake. The distant splash made him feel better, and he picked up a handfull more stones.  
  
Splash. Splash. Splash-splash-splash. James felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around, and saw Dumbledore looking down at him.  
  
"A rock cannot disturb the silent peace of so great a body of water. It only creates an outward ripple, and albeit a momentary distraction for nearby fish. Come, we're almost ready."  
  
James dropped the rocks back onto the shoreline, and followed behind Dumbledore, listening to the roar of students as they filled the stands that had been magicked to the lake. He took his position by the judging table, and waited.  
  
Dumbledore, however, caught up with Mrs. Johanssen and Mr. Warrick, and the three approached the Champions tent.  
  
*  
  
Lily was pacing around inside the tent, trying desperately to slow the hummingbird noises of her heart against her ribcage. She glanced at Marc and Anya, to see if they were nervous as well. Marc was cleaning dirt out of his fingernails, and Anya was tying up her hair in a knot. She saw that Lily was looking at her, and walked over.  
  
"Vy haff you nervousness?"  
  
"I'm okay, just excited."  
  
"Oh. Is James votching?" she said, uninterested in Lily's answer. She was busy trying to peek through the curtains of the tent.  
  
"Probably."  
  
"Good." she said, in an awkward tone. Her head whirled back to Lily.  
  
"I haff kvestion." she said, approaching Lily with her arms crossed.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"You and James are not in relationship?"  
  
Lily knew she meant it in more of a question, but it sounded like more of a statement. She didn't need to force the laugh that came out of her.  
  
"Oh, no - not at all."  
  
"Good." she said again, in that same awkward tone. She turned on her heel and sat back down on the benches. Lily could feel her right eyebrow raise on its own.  
  
"Okay," she said under her breath.  
  
It was at that time that Dumbledore entered the tent, along with the two Ministry officials. Her stomach was invaded by butterflies.  
  
"Alright, may I have your attention?" Dumbledore asked, smiling. "We are ready for you out by the lake. If you would all follow me please."  
  
Lily was amazed that she could consciously put one foot in front of the other once she got into view of the rest of the school. The roar they made was deafening. Somehow, it made her feel braver. She walked with a little more confidence.  
  
There was a bit of a bustle as they got to the edge of the lake. A lot of people were buzzing around them, trying to get to the judging table, or to the Medical tent. There were a few students there, evidently helping out. Lily narrowed her eyes, trying to make the noise tolerable.  
  
"I wouldn't know if a bludger was going to knock me off my broom," came a voice. Lily spun around. James was standing there, about to walk away.  
  
"What?" she said loudly to his back. He turned to face her.  
  
"If I didn't know what was coming. I wouldn't know if a bludger was going to knock me off my broom."  
  
"Oh,"  
  
They stared at each other, until Lily looked away first.  
  
'Just a game.' she heard him say in her mind.  
  
James looked up for the umptienth time at the crowd.   
  
"Just a game." he said. He shook his head. "Could I be any more full of sh-"  
  
"C'est un Waverley - non - Waverlus, je pense-"  
  
James stopped dead. He saw the Champion from Beauxbatons talking to someone, but he couldn't see their face. He tried getting closer, but someone passed in front of him, and soon the entourage was gone. He shook his head, thinking he heard it wrong.  
  
"May I have everyone's attention please?" Dumbledore called, his voice magically magnified. "The first task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin!"  
  
There was an applause, and Lily found herself being ushered to the side of the lake by Professor Raven, her Arithmancy teacher.  
  
"Our Champions, Miss Anya Tvyrnn -" he paused to allow a round of applause, "Mr. Marc Injuste- " another pause," - And Miss Lily Evans."  
  
Lily didn't hear the applause she was getting. She was too focused and the waves across the lake. How deep was it again? Did she even have her wand?  
  
"They are now at the entrace to the tunnel that will lead them back and forth from Durmstrang ship, awaiting them at the bottom of the lake. I ask that those supervising, please make your way down now."  
  
As Dumbledore mentioned the tunnel, a large hole appeared in front of Lily's feet, as if imaginary hands had pulled apart the water. Those supervising made their way inside of it, climbing downward at a quick pace. Lily gulped, and almost did a double take when she saw James going with them.  
  
"Champions, I will count down from ten. The first to arrive out of the water will be awarded 5 extra points. Good luck. 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1!"  
  
Lily ordered her feet to move. They moved. Swiftly, silently, effortlessly. She was neck and neck with the other champions. If she had looked up to notice, she would have seen the tunnel around her. It looked like a giant soap bubble, with swirling colours, consistantly becoming harder to see as they ran further and further into the depths of the lake.  
  
"I - vill do much better- than you two -" huffed Anya, to Lily's right. "I know - our ship - like mine home."  
  
Lily squinted. It was getting darker. She extracted her wand.  
  
"Lumos," she said. Seconds later, the other two did the same.  
  
"You may think - zat you will do better. But - I can - get zere faster - zan you -"  
  
Marc then pulled ahead by a little over an inch. Lily pulled her elbows in and increased her strides. She strayed back a little bit as she changed, but shot foreward, outrunning them both by a few feet once she found a rhythm. The descent was more severe now, and she constantly had to jump over small ridges to keep herself from falling.   
  
She wished that the light from her wand could strecth over a greater distance, but alas, it could not. She fell momentarily to her knees, but got back up just as Marc ran past her. She began running again, wondering how much further it was to the ship.  
  
Her question was answered a few minutes later, as she saw Professor Sprout standing - albiet wheezing, by a doorway.  
  
"Just got down here - a second ago! How fast - do you kids run nowadays?"  
  
She held out small slips of parchment to each as they zoomed past. Lily glanced down at hers, and the first word that popped out was "stairs". She looked up again, and saw a dark staircase to her left. She bolted up it, as Marc continued down a hallway, and Anya raced through a door to the right.  
  
Lily could have passed out from running so hard. She slowed to a walk, allowing more oxygen to go to her brain.  
  
"I have to be able to think about this," she said. Looking back down at her sheet, she saw that there were numbered sentences, 6 of them. 'Up the stairs, to your right, down the hall.' was number one. She veered to the right, and started walking down the hallway. She saw a small red box at the end. Her walking speed increased, although her legs felt shaky from the run. She approached it, and saw that it contained three small red flags. She grabbed one, and turned around.   
  
"Number two," she read. "Through the door on your right, the end of the mess hall, and into the kichens."  
  
Lily looked up. There was about 5 doors on her right. She tried the first. Locked. The second was also locked. As was the third. The fourth, however, swung open.  
  
Lily stuck her wand in first, illuminating a small part of the floor. Whatever was beyond was lost in an abyss of darkness. She stepped inside, her arm in full extension. She needed to see what this room was, even though she was scared out of her mind.  
  
The door creaked shut. Lily dropped her wand in a mixture of fear and surprise. It rolled, and she tried desperately to snatch it up again. She felt lost without it in her hand, somehow vulnerable.  
  
The light of the wand bounced, only revealing more floor, until it rolled to a stop, illuminating something moving. Lilt thought it was a scaled tail, but no, it was a fish. A fish out of water. She stared at it for a moment, as she stooped to grasp her wand. Her hand extended, trying to touch it, but barely had enough time to close around the distressed fish before a forked tounge lashed it out of sight. Lily fell backwards in shock, legs flailing in an attempt to back towards the door. Once the back of her head hit something solid, she sprang to her feet and threw open the door. Lily could smell the rancid breath of whatever it was come cascading down upon her neck as her hand slipped over the handle.  
  
This time Lily grasped the handle firmly and the door creaked open. She burst into the hallway, and turned to pull the door shut. She could only catch a glimpse of what that thing was in the room, seeing orange like eyes and more scales, as well as the forked tounge weaving its way quickly towards her. She dug her heels in the floor and pulled the door closed. It clicked shut sharply, and Lily noticed in utmost disgust that its tounge had been caught in the process. A shriek echoed from inside the room, and the tongue flicked around desperately.   
  
Her breathing slowed, but her face felt warm. Lily leaned against a wall and began fanning herself with the slip of parchment. Her eyes did a double take of the parchment. It was double sided. She scanned the words, and felt her heart flip upside down.  
  
'This task seems simple now, but soon the water comes. Move quickly.'  
  
Lily wiped her forehead with her sleeve and tried to calm down, but the thought of "The others must already have 5 flags," kept running through her mind. She strode foreward to the last remaining door, hoping beyond hope that it was what she was looking for. It was. Oh, thank merciful heavens it was. And this mess hall came with a bit of a light source. Lily sprinted the length of the room towards the door opposite. The kitchen beyond was rather large, and appeared to have the capacity needed to feed a small army.   
  
Lily searched everywhere for a red box, but it somehow didn't appear to exist. After a full two minutes of her precious time, she lost her sense of dignity and kicked over a nearby aluminum pot. It clashed angrily around the floor for a moment, the lid flying off in the opposite direction.  
  
Three red flags fell in a knot out of the pot.  
  
Lily laughed out loud, making a mental note to be angry more often. She grabbed one flag, replacing the other two and returning the pot to where it originally stood. She whipped out the parchment with one hand, while using the other to stuff the flag in her pocket.  
  
'Down the stairs, through the hallway, blue lightswitch.'  
  
She hurtled back through the mess hall and out the door. Lily made her way down the stairs by jumping three at a time, arriving at the bottom as if like lightning.   
  
Her feet had barely touched the hardwood of the floor before the ship gave an almighty lurch, and she tumbled to the opposite wall. Her head hit the wall with a small thud, and her eyes had to refocus for a moment, chosing to do so on her knees. And it was at that moment that she fully realized that they were scraped. Badly scraped. Most of the blood had dried, but there were horrible black and blue bruises that were going to become painful tomorrow.  
  
"No time," she huffed, dismissing her physical state. She pushed herself to her feet, noticing the slope of the ship as she tried to balance herself. Lily hobbled down the hallway, eyes darting from side to side, looking for a blue switch. She saw one, but it was encased in glass.  
  
"Dimolus!" she cried, and the glass shattered into a thousand pieces. She flicked the switch, which activated a light, illuminating a drop box for a laundry chute. Opening it within a heartbeat, she saw that attached to the pulley were two red flags. She grabbed this one as well, and turned around to review the parchment.  
  
Her vision blurred, and her knees went weak. The flag fell from her hands to the floor, and Lily blindly groped for it through the shallow water.   
  
Water had began to accumulate at her feet since the ship had lurched, which had gone unnoticed. The water was rising, slowly - very slowly, but Lily's eyes had yet to refocus. Her head throbbed, but she managed to stay on her feet. She swayed dangerously, but she remained standing.  
  
'Next step.' she thought.  
  
'Hall - door - key -" the words were jumbling in her mind. Lily haphazardly made her way back out to the entrance, and saw Anya make a quick dash for the stairs. Her eyes narrowed. She splashed over to the door, the water now at her waist. It was coming faster now, leaking in from outside.   
  
"Handle," she said aloud. "Get the stupid handle,"  
  
She pushed open the door with a lot of effort. This room was tiny. There was another door to her right, which she had no choice but to go through.   
  
It was a Waverlus. She didn't think it to be true, but there it was. Not fully grown, probably just a baby, but still dangerous. And there was Marc, trying desperately to subdue it. He had managed to get it into a corner, but he couldn't move fast enough through the water, nearing the elbows.  
  
"Marc!" Lily called out, bringing her wand out of her pocket. He didn't look away, but he kept calling out dangerous spells.  
  
"Don't try to finish it off, just subdue it!" she said, pushing her way towards him through the splashes and waves.  
  
"Zis cannot be subdued! I have 'urt one of ze legs!"  
  
"Stupefy!" she cried, pointing at the mouth. It halted. Marc looked sideways at her, and tried to swim off towards the wall right next to the creature. Lily saw what he was after, a large skeleton key hanging on a hook.  
  
"Marc, No!" He would never get the key and get away in time.  
  
Lily hated being right. He had managed to get the key, but he had gotten no more than a meter away from the baby Waverlus before it shook, and came back to life. No other spell could hit it before it dove beneath the water, out of sight. Lily's eyes watched Marc, swim towards her, expecting him to go down at any moment. Everything seemed to slow down then. The waves slowed, Marc's pace came in slow motion, and Lily's breath was slowing. The water was at her chest, and she remained stock - still, looking for any movement in the inky depths.  
  
Lily's head whiplashed backwards, and she fell under the water. Water had gone up her nose, and she had no breath to hold onto. She had been pulled under. Her eyes opened, ans she saw only the black of the Waverlus' gaping mouth, floating calmly in front of her. Dear god, if she had the breath to scream...  
  
She couldn't move. The creature had latched onto her knees with its legs, and Lily saw the damaged leg hanging limp right above her left knee, occasionally brushing against her leg.  
  
"Expelliarmus!" she choked out, using the last of what oxygen was inside her. It came out as more "Eurglarrmuuh" through the water, but the burst of red sparks still came from her wand, and the Waverlus recoiled. Her head broke the water, and she could just hear the creak of the door close behind her. Marc was gone.  
  
"Impedimenta! Stupefy! I- impedimenta!" she cried, trying to back towards the door. The pain in her knees was now imminent, and her vision was starting to blurr again. "Stupefy!" she yelled out, feeling her hand close around the handle of the door. The Waverlus was a distance from her now, but it didn't stop her from yelling out incantations one after the other. As she pulled the door open, she screamed her last spell before exiting that room.  
  
Lily now had to tread water to stay afloat. But her knees wouldn't hold her. The water was rising, and she could barely see the door frame now.  
  
"It's over," she thought. "I don't want any of this." Her body ached from its ailments. The throbbing beat harder and harder, threatening to make her faint, and her knees just failed her. Lily's head again slipped below the cold water. She hung there for what seemed like an eternity, eyes open, mind only slightly wary, but more scared than she had ever been in her entire life. She was staring at her door, her escape, her exit to where she had first begun.  
  
'Just reach for the handle,' she thought, but her body did not obey. Lily saw the handle turn on its own in a peculiar fashion, but she could remember little of how it went exactly. The door opened on its own, and she was drawn out with the water into a hallway. James was there by himself, looking worried.   
  
The water was back to knee level, although Lily still sat in it, trying to take in as much oxygen as she could. James pulled her to her feet, but her legs couldn't support her weight. His voice sounded so distant, although he was right there next to her, helping her walk.  
  
"It's okay, Evans. It's all over - It's okay."  
  
Lily tightened her hand around his shoulder, trying to keep her balance, but it just wouldn't happen.   
  
"- Just a game," she breathed, before her world went black.  
  
*  
  
Wow, there's one more chapter finished, thank goodness. My fingers seem to be permanently bent from the effort, but I'm somehow not satisfied with this. What I wanted to happen - happened, but I'm sure you noticed a lot of blunt, short, semi-descriptive sentences. I hate those, and I just mass produced a truck full. Maybe this inability to write was caused by school and my new semester, or quite possibly a small bout of writers block. (The ending was written at night, :: looks at watch :: no, morning. Insomnia's a bitch, let me tell you...) No matter, it's here now. Oh, and I hadn't introduced Arabella earlier because she just didn't really play into the plot very much. But she's here now, and everyone's happy. 


	6. Chapter Six

Landslide :: 6 ::  
  
Lily's eyes fluttered open, her arm rushing instantly towards her pocket for her wand. It wasn't there. Panic. She needed her wand. She needed to see, but the vision in front of her was still blurred. The others must have gotten their flags by now. They had to have gotten them.  
  
"No, Lily - don't move. We need to get out of here,"  
  
Her eyes stopped rolling around and fixated on a moving object in front of her. One with jet-black hair.  
  
"Come on, don't fall asleep. Stay awake, that's it."  
  
Lily thrashed away from him - whomever it was, and tried to stand on her own. Her soaked fingers flew to her eyes, rubbing them, coaxing them to see.  
  
James watched as Lily swayed on the spot, rubbing her eyes. She squinted, and started making her way towards the door.  
  
"They'll get there before me," she said, now in an effort to keep from crying. "They'll be ages ahead!"  
  
James got back to his feet and ran as fast as he could after her.  
  
"Evans you won't be able to -"  
  
"No!" she yelled, as he tried to grab her arm. She pushed it away, feeling her eyes start to get warmer. She was in the tunnel now, a few teachers flocking around her. Lily took off like a dart, James almost right behind her.  
  
"Slow down or you'll pass out again!"  
  
"Shut up!" she yelled over her shoulder. "I'm finishing this -"  
  
Lily could feel something bubble up in her throat, but she swallowed hard and pushed her legs to move faster. She clambered over a small ridge and could just see the back of Anya before the Durmstrang student darted out of sight.  
  
"- Your girlfriend might beat me," she said breathlessly.  
  
James slowed down, annoyed at her blatant refusal to be civilized.  
  
"Of course she will!" he yelled to Lily's back. He grabbed his sweater and wrung out all of the water.   
  
"And you're welcome, by the way." he said under his breath.  
  
Lily knew James was right, Anya would most likely get to the top first, and Marc was probably out of the lake already. And there was the entrance now, like a beacon of light after everything that had just happened. It was suddenly easier to breathe. She stumbled slightly upon her exit into view of the audience. Was it this bright when she started the task?  
  
She swallowed hard against the rising in her throat. She was right. Both of her competitors were out before her. Madame Pomfrey was in front of her in an instant, grasping her shoulders so hard it was painful.  
  
"Lily? Are you alright? You look a mess - come -"  
  
Lily shook her head angrily, not trusting herself to speak. She somehow shook herself free and made her way to the others.  
  
"Miss Evans? Good God, what happened to you?"  
  
"S'fine." Her words slurred together in the frozen air. Her soaked clothes were beginning to freeze, but she plastered a grin on her face. Mr.Warrick seemed convinced.  
  
"Right. Well, I'll need your flags then. How many? Three. That's - 18 points. You're tied with Anya for second place."  
  
Lily soon heard her score being shouted out to the crowd. Their reaction was a polite applause, nothing spectacular, but nonetheless louder than that of the others. She looked over at Marc, who looked drenched, but unfazed by it. Lily felt a swell of anger in her stomach.   
  
'Thanks for waiting,' she thought. Anya looked menacing. She was just as wet as they were, but she had managed to come out of the task with the least amount of scratches. She rounded on Lily.  
  
"You vere of luck this time. I vill not be beaten by a Hogwarts student, nor vill I tie vith one. As for him," she said, jerking her head in the direction of Marc, "He had sense enough to take most valued flag before you, even though you verr scared by creature and did not move."  
  
Anya was staring down at Lily, with a snarl curling at her lips. Lily narrrowed her eyes, although their abnormal fixation had given her adversary a humorous appearance.  
  
"That's right. You won't be beaten by a Hogwarts student, you'll be trampled by one. And as for Marc, your favoritism towards his unsportsmanlike manner won't be able to equalize the embarassment you feel when it comes back to bite him in the ass. Now if you don't mind, you've been standing in my way long enough."  
  
Lily pushed past Anya, not bothering to acknowledge the look on her face as she concentrated on the Tournament officials. Her knees were still shaky, but she managed to stay upright with an air of dignity, something her soaked appearance wouldn't have allowed otherwise. She hugged her soaken sweater closer to her, the smell of wet wool wafting up to her nostrils. That's one sweater to be tossed out later - no spell could fix this.  
  
Lily narrowed her eyes towards the judges. 'Hurry up,' she thought, her knees going weak and her stomach churning with swallowed lakewater.  
  
"Congratulations on completing the first task! You have all done very well, and your respective schools are very proud of you. Now then. The second task will take place in late February. Be prepared to take to the skies for this one. We provide the brooms, you provide the talent. Understood? Great. Now hurry inside before you catch cold, and again, congratulations."  
  
All of the teachers shook Lily's hand, pestering her if she felt alright. After about ten different reassurances, she shivered slightly and pulled her feet in the direction of the castle. The rest of the students were being held back for some kind of an announcement, Lily hearing only the date of the next task and something about a ball.  
  
"Lily!"  
  
A hand came over her shoulder, and Lily had the right mind to swat it off before she realized who it was. Emanuel spun her around and hugged her tightly.  
  
"Are you alright? I waz of worry about you."  
  
Lily couldn't free herself from his tight grasp to hug him back, and her face was buried in his shoulder. She could smell a sporty scent from his robes. After a long moment, he let go, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the castle.  
  
"I thought for a moment zat you wouldn't make it. What 'az happened to your knees?"  
  
"I fell," Lily said, using her free hand to feel the back of her head. Her hair was frozen, but she felt a definite lump underneath. It made her lightheaded just to touch it. She shivered again.  
  
Emanuel walked her back inside the castle where Lily insisted that she continue along alone.  
  
"It's almost time for dinner. I'll see you then, okay?"  
  
"Yes, of course. Feel better,"  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Emanuel kissed her on the forehead, and Lily blamed the spinning feeling on emotion. He smiled and left, while Lily leaned onto the banister, wet shoes slipping on the marble staircase.  
  
*  
  
Arabella waited until Dumbledore had finished talking about the Yule Ball before trying to find Lily. She managed to be the first to run out of the stands and onto the grounds. She searched around wildly, the throng of students behind her beginning to spill over the scenery.   
  
'Aha, there she was. Aww, and there was Emanuel. Cute hug, he looks a bit distracted though. Oh, there's that Marc character. That's probably why. If Lily saw him, I bet she would have told him off, or gotten upset. That's probably why Emanuel signaled him away.  
  
This is too cute to interrupt. I'll just leave them be.'  
  
*  
Lily had made it up the grand staircase, although it took her a longer time than expected. As she reached the final steps, her knees bent so much that she was almost sitting on each step. She gave a whimper as the dried blood on her left knee cracked and fresh blood spilled over. She pushed herself to her feet, ordering her legs to support her. She heard the doors creak open. Looking down she saw Potter and Anya coming inside, Anya's arm hooked around James' neck, pretending to need his help in walking.   
  
Anya saw Lily, although James didn't. Immediately Anya's other arm flew up to James' chin, pulling it towards hers, soon pressing her lips to his in a kiss. Lily grimaced and hobbled away as she looked at her with a triumphant grin. James narrowed his eyes at Anya, and followed her gaze, just seeing Lily walk out of sight.   
  
The Durmstrang student let out a fake whimper, and James turned back to her.  
  
"I'll take you to the Great Hall. Dinner is about to start anyways."  
  
"Vill you wait vith me?"   
  
"I just need to check something back in my dorm, I'll be back in a minute. Can you manage to be away from me that long?" he asked, giving her his famous grin. Her back straightened.   
  
"Yes."  
  
"Great." James said, helping her take a seat at the Slytherin table. He pecked her on the cheek. "Be right back."  
  
He sprinted back out to the entrance hall, slipping ungracefully on his soaked shoes.   
  
"Stupid Evans. You had better be on your way to the inf - IR - mary... Jesus..."  
  
He took out his wand and muttered a drying spell on his uniform. He managed to catch up with Lily just as she was rounding a corner for the second floor stairs.   
  
"Infirmary?"  
  
Lily shook her head no.  
  
"And why the hell not? Look at you! You're a mess!"  
  
"Shut UP Potter, I don't care how I look, I feel f -"  
  
Her hands held the banister so tightly her knuckles were white. She leaned her head on the wall.  
  
" - faint." she finished.   
  
James' heart softened for a fleeting instant.  
  
"Come on," he said gently. "I'll help you."  
  
Lily's eyes were brimming with unshed tears. She didn't trust herself to walk up a flight of stairs. Her legs were frozen and blood stained, her head was throbbing, and she was still soaking wet with frozen clothes. Her eyes travelled slowly up the staircase, wich seemed to instantly strech farther.  
  
"This way," James said, pulling her gently over to a picture.  
  
"What're you -"  
  
"Puddlemere United." he muttered, and the portrait swung open. There was nothing but black beyond it. James moved foreward, but Lily stayed back. He noticed she wasn't with him, and turned around.  
  
"Coming?" he said, staring at her.  
  
"How did you know -"  
  
"Know what - this?" James came back and pulled her arm over his shoulder and helped her walk. The portrait swung shut behind them, and James lit his wand, illuminating a small corridor.  
  
"You don't honestly think that I'd spend 7 years here and not snoop around. This corridor we found in fifth year. It's one of the few shortcuts we'll be using to get to the infirmary."  
  
"Shortcuts?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"How on earth -"  
  
"Like I said, harmless snooping - marauding, if you will. Don't worry, we don't let students see us, so we haven't corrupted the future prefects and Heads - don't look so scared."  
  
"Maybe not corrupted, but you've probably smashed a hundred school rules to pieces on the way."  
  
"What rules? Investigating your own school isn't breaking rules."  
  
"You just said marauding -"  
  
"Marauding, investigating - same th- oh, careful -"  
  
Lily 's hand flew out to the wall to level herself. All this talking in almost darkness was dizzying.  
  
"How much farther?" Lily asked, wiping cold sweat from her face.  
  
"Quit whining, we're almost there. What is it with women and whining?"  
  
"We don't whine, we're just inquisitive. There is a difference."  
  
"More like interrogation. What's even more annoying is -"  
  
"Shh!" Lily hissed. "Just stop talking."  
  
"If I stop talking, you'll fall asleep. That's not a good thing."  
  
"Why? Because I might slip into a coma and leave you with all the Heads work, or no one else has listened to you this long before?"  
  
"The first one."  
  
James heard Lily laugh silently, and then felt her head drop onto his shoulder. Her haphazard walking slowed down.  
  
"Hey - Evans."  
  
No answer. He shrugged his shoulder a bit, feeling Lily's head roll off.   
  
"Evans?"  
  
Lily slumped to the floor.  
  
"Shit - Evans?!"  
  
James dropped to his knees, lifting Lily's head up.   
  
"Wake up, come on. Wake up!"  
  
Her arm shot up on its own and grabbed James' ear painfully. Lily's eyes shot open.  
  
"Ow!"  
  
"If I hear that you've been snooping around this school again, I'll take away house points and rethink the coma. Got it?"  
  
Lily let go of his ear and sat up, dusting off her skirt.  
  
"You were just -?"  
  
"Pretending. Now help me up."  
  
James grabbed her hands and helped her to her feet.  
  
"Do you have any idea how-"  
  
He stopped.  
  
" - much farther I can make us walk if you do that again?"  
  
"Not too much out of the way. Your poor girlfriend is probably waiting."  
  
"She really banged up her ankle."  
  
"Oh, of course she did James. And I really almost fell asleep back there."  
  
"Y'know, You're sounding really jealous right now."  
  
"I'm what? Newsflash Potter, I'm not jealous of anyone associated with you."  
  
"Yes, I am irresistable, thank you."  
  
"Can we talk about something important - please?"  
  
"What else is there?"  
  
"Oh, that's right. Mister Social Butterfly needs to discuss the tupperware party."  
  
James didn't say anything - he was trying not to smile. Lily had made an albeit funny smartass remark. She looked at him, and let out an exagerrated gasp.  
  
"Did Lily make a funny?" she said incredulously.  
  
James laughed. Lily watched him, and for a split second she understood why he was so attractive. The way he laughed was very - how to put it - cute.   
  
Her face suddenly became very stern, although she didn't say a word.  
  
'This is what happens when you hit your head on the side of a boat.' she thought. 'No matter. Emanuel is very good looking, sweet, and well mannered - while Potter is just an arrogant git.'  
  
*  
  
Emanuel kissed Lily on the Head and left the Entrance Hall. Outside, he could see a swarm of black cloaks making their way up to the castle. Leading the way was that Potter and whatserface. He rolled his eyes, and plastered a grin on his face.  
  
"Zat was excellente. Good luck on ze next task." he said to Anya, tipping an imaginary hat. He smiled at James too, as he passed by with her.  
  
James nodded, although he didn't return the smile. Emanuel's grin seemed somewhat forced, and very awkward.  
  
*  
  
Marc was pacing back and forth on the edge of the forest. He checked his watch, and found it broken from being in water.  
  
"... je ne peux pas croire que j'ai paye $400 pour ceci," he muttered, undoing the clasp and throwing it over his shoulder.  
  
"Zis can be fixed, you know."  
  
"Your eenglish iz terrible."  
  
"My eenglish iz doing you a great favour. Alors, qu'est-ce que c'est, la tache prochaine?"  
  
Marc shoved his hands in his pockets, ignoring the watch Emanuel was examining in his hand.  
  
"Incroyable. Some stupid person 'az thrown away a repairable watch..."  
  
Emanuel batted away Marc's flailing arms.  
  
'I'm keeping this as compensation for my work, not to mention half the prize money.' he thought, tauntingly swinging the watch just out of his best friend's reach. 


	7. Chapter Seven

Landslide :: 7 ::  
  
Lily's eyes fluttered open. It was dark in the infirmary, moreso with the blinds around her bed. The day was a haze, but at least she was feeling better. Her head wasn't throbbing, she could blessedly see clearly, and her knees were - still bruised, and the left was covered in a large white square of bandage - but the pain was gone. Her uniform - cleaned and dry, was folded neatly on her bedside table. She glanced at her watch. Broken. Glass gone and everything.  
  
"Wow."  
  
This was going to seriously complicate her daily schedule. She snatched her hairtie from on top of the pile of clothes and swung her hair up into it's usual high ponytail.  
  
Well, before the elastic broke.  
  
"Shoot."  
  
Lily pulled the covers off of her legs, immediately making her feel cold. The covers flew back into place, Lily drumming her fingers on the crisp white sheets. Getting up in the morning was never this annoying.   
  
Breathing angrily out of her nostrils, she edged closer to the side of the bed, and reached her arm out for her clothes. Why were they on the farthest corner of the table?  
  
Just farther, just an ooch farther - got it.  
  
"Oh!"  
  
Before she knew what happened, she was on the floor, clothes dissheveled and now wrinkled. Backside frozen.  
  
"Damn it." she breathed. Lily gathered her blankets - also included in the fall - and tossed them onto the bed. She eased herself onto her feet, and picked up what had seconds ago been neatly folded clothes.  
  
It took about half an hour, but Lily was finally dressed. Her skirt had a few too many pleats in it, which only added to Lily's mood. Making the bed expertly in minutes, she took her wand and headed out the door.  
  
Straight into Madame Pomfrey, who - conveniently enough - was carrying a tray of medecines and cleaned utensils, all of which clattered noisily to the floor.  
  
"Oh, no. It's alright, Miss Evans, I'll clean this up. Oh, and you've gotten something on your shirt. Oh, just cleaned and everything. If you want I can look up a spell for you, just give me a moment with this..."  
  
"No, it's fine, I'll clean it out."  
  
"Are you sure? How are you feeling?"  
  
"I'm fine, really."  
  
"That's good. Well, go eat something. Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't want to see you back in here for exhaustion."  
  
"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey."  
  
The patron smiled, looking too distracted to answer.  
  
Lily rounded a corner, slowly and widely this time, just for good measure. The hallway was empty anyways, so Lily sped up her pace, wanting to get some breakfast before anyone at her table (namely James) claimed half of it.  
  
In her mind, she was doing a quick review of her schedule for today. Potions, Transfiguration, and Divination. Not one good class. What she desperately needed was a charms class to lift her spirits. Lily's day was just spiraling ever downwards.  
  
"Miss Evans!" croaked someone. Lily came back from her stupor, and saw wood. She stopped abruptly, but her foot kept going until her toe knocked the door with a hollow thud. She was about to scream obscenities when she half noticed, half remembered the person standing on the other side.  
  
"Do pay more attention!" Filch said, craning his neck around the doorframe to check for damage.  
  
"I'm sorry." Lily said through clenched teeth.  
  
"Students never pay attention to smaller things." he mumbled to himself, now swinging the door back and forth on its hinges. Lily just stood there, frustration building. She sidestepped the door and was about to continue on her way, when Filch cried out.  
  
"Y'hear that?!" he cried.  
  
"Er - hear what, sorry."  
  
"Listen."  
  
Filch swung the door away and back again. Lily heard nothing but the gentle swish of air it created.  
  
"Well?"  
  
She looked from him to the door to him again. "Nothing, sir."  
  
He grabbed hold of the door again, and extended his index finger. Slowly, very, very slowly, he pushed the oak door. It was quiet at first, and then grew to the audity of a whisper. A slow, continuous squeak. Barely there. Filch's face contorted into an 'I-told-you-so' stare.  
  
Lily didn't know what to say at that moment.  
  
"R-Right. I really should be going, Mr.Filch. I need to have breakfast before I get to class. Bye!"  
  
She walked off in a hurry, leaving Filch with his cat - who had just come slinking out of the classroom.  
  
"I don't suppose we have any oil left for these hinges?"  
  
A meow.  
  
"Well, we'll add it to the list for Dumbledore."   
  
He clicked his tounge against his teeth and the cat sprang onto his shoulder.  
  
"And what's this about the Durmstrang ship?"  
*  
  
Lily had made it to the Great Hall, but not on time. As she sat down on the table, she noticed James' chair was empty, and what looked like the last slices of bacon left on his plate. Lily looked towards the grandfather clock, and saw that she was more behind schedule than previously imagined.   
  
Pulling a few pieces of cold toast onto a napkin, she tore off as fast as she could run with her knee bandaged up towards the Potions classroom. She screeched to a halt by her desk with minutes to spare. Arabella looked up from her textbook when she heard Lily's toast bounce annoyingly onto the desk.  
  
"Missed breakfast again?"  
  
Lily took off her heavy backpack and threw it on the back of the chair. She didn't sit down fast enough, and the chair fell backwards from the uneven weight distribution. Lily righted her chair, kicking the bag under the desk, and sat down. Arabella wasn't stupid enough to press her friend for conversation. She returned to her textbook, occasionally glancing sideways at Lily, who was drumming her fingers at an abysmally fast speed on the desktop.  
  
Professor Rummonds had walked into class after a few moments, a tray of half filled vials balanced on each arm. He lay them gently down on his desk before adressing the class.  
  
"Attention please! Mr. Black, face the front."   
  
Once everyone was silent, Rummonds walked around to the front of his desk with a roll of parchment  
  
"Today we will be doing a practical experiment. You will need your cauldrons, and the basic ingredients listed in your textbook, page 173. The potion is moderate forgetfullness. It is only moderate, because of the small amount of the main ingrediant, Oublius Oxidium."  
  
At this, he gestured to the vials behind him.  
  
"Your concoctions are not as powerful as the base alone. The entire vial you will produce will have the ability to make you forget the past week, but since you are working in groups, your individual potion has only the ability to blur the last day or two. Now then, you will be working in groups of 4, which I have previously assigned."  
  
A few groans, and an obvious "boo" was heard from the group of students. Rummonds needed only to clear his throat and the class went mute.   
  
"Good good. The first group will be Ms. Figg, Ms. Bowles, Mr. Black, and Mr. Lupin. Group Two will be Mr. Pettigrew, Ms.Evans, Mr.Potter, and Mr.Snape. Group three will be - "  
  
Lily's temper, if it were at all possible, rose. And this was only her first class. When Rummonds finished calling out the groups, Lily grabbed her textbook and cauldron, and made her way to the back of the class.  
  
Her whole group looked upset. Potter and Snape were glaring at each other, Peter just looked worried, and Lily was just very very frustrated. It was going to be an interesting class.  
  
"I'll get the base." Lily said through the odd silence.  
  
"Fine." said James, not looking away from Snape.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes, and went to the front of the room, where she met up with Arabella.   
  
"These groups suck." her friend said.  
  
"Predecided groups always suck. It's an elaborate hoax set up by professors in hopes of turning us against each other in all out war. It makes for small talk on the coffee breaks. But then there's always the lecture on teamwork. That must be for kicks." Lily said quickly. She grabbed a vial and wrenched it out of the tray, almost spilling some of the clear base.  
  
"Be careful, Ms. Evans!" tutted the Professor. "Don't spill any of that!"  
  
Lily turned away from the desk, clenching and unclenching her jaw.  
  
"Mmm-hmm."  
  
Once she had gotten back to her group, Peter was trying to use a flint lighter to spark the fire underneath the cauldrons. He wasn't having very much luck.  
  
"Wouldn't a wand work?" Snape said, staring down at Peter as if he was an idiot. Peter drew back, his cheeks beginning to redden.  
  
"If you'd have cared to read the book, you'd notice that it said non-magic fire produces the best result." James shot back at him. "Give it here, Pete."  
  
Peter's back straightened a bit, and he handed James the flint lighter. James looked at it for a moment, before extending it to Snape.  
  
"Or would you like to do the honours?"  
  
Snape narrowed his eyes at James.  
  
"A pure-blooded wizard like myself wouldn't stoop so low as to use primitive muggle tools. You'd be better off handing that god-forsaken contraption to the mudblood on your left."  
  
It could have happened in an instant if Lily hadn't intervened. She grabbed the lighter from James' hand, which also prevented him from jumping across the desk. He sat back, fuming.  
  
"Severus, if you can't wrap your brain around the simplicity of a scientific piece of equipment, just say so. There's no need for time consuming bullshit."  
  
Lily snapped the flint lighter and soon the cauldron was simmering over a fair sized flame. Lily dropped the lighter and sat back in her chair, examining her textbook.  
  
"Add the toenails once it turns green." Peter spat out, eager to get a crack at Snape.  
  
James had to hide his smiles behind his textbook. Pete tries so hard, but -  
  
The class was beginning to wind down, and Lily was impatiently waiting for the base to finally be added. Her toast was as hard as a slab of rock.  
  
"There's a filling breakfast." James said, wiping what was left of powdered tooth off of the desk with his hand.  
  
"If you left any bacon on the table, it might have been otherwise."  
  
"You know what they say about the early bird."  
  
Lily shook her head.   
  
"What I wouldn't give to see you eat a worm."  
  
"Herbology isn't until next week somehow. Too bad."  
  
"I don't need a herbology class to get my hands on a worm."  
  
"Add the base." interrupted Snape. He looked at Peter, who was the designated observer, jotting down notes on the experiment. His elbow 'accidentally' slipped, and Peter's quill scratched a heavy line across his detailed observations.  
  
"Don't worry Pete, we can fix that." James said.  
  
Lily tipped the vial into the cauldron, making the colour go from dark red to black, to clear liquid.  
  
"That means it's finished. Now we just need to pour it into seperate vials."  
  
"Well then let's get on with it. This class is almost over."  
  
Snape grabbed the ladel and dolloped some of the forgetfulness potion into a vial for each of them. He distributed the finished product to everyone, lastly Lily. Hers was obviously only a quarter full as compared to the others.  
  
"Hand me the ladel." she demanded, arm fully extended towards Snape. He did as he was asked, but as soon as Lily's hand clasped over the object, Snape roughly knocked her hand. The cauldron, and the last remnants of the potion, spilled over the desk, and over a corner of her backpack. There was a low hiss and a potently burned smell.  
  
Snape had left the table by this time, heading back to his own desk. Lily was left speechless, only knocked out of her reverie as the class was dismissed.  
  
*  
The remainder of her classes that day went by in similar fashions. Something always went wrong, and there she was, right at the center of it.In transfiguration, she couldn't, for the life of her, perform the simple review tasks - something that McGonagall commented loudly on in class. In Divination, she spilled tea all over Trelawney's favourite tablecloth, something that could have been fixed, if she hadn't put the hot metal teapot down on it shortly thereafter. The tablecloth now had a large, obvious black mark somewhat near the center. Trelawney was in tears. Lily was almost at breaking point.  
  
She was again late for dinner, having offered to help clean up her mess. The teachers were gone, as well as most of the students.  
  
However, Potter was still at the head table. Lily sat down in her seat, angrily piling food onto her plate.  
  
"Whoa. The klutz sits down to a hearty meal."  
  
Lily broke.  
  
"That's it! That's IT, Potter! I've had it with everything today!I've had the worst day imaginable - do you understand? I've spilled tea, been humiliated on several accounts, knocked things over, had things spilled on me and my things, fallen out of bed, had my hairtie break, my toe stubbed, been lectured for things I never did, and YOU took the LAST - PIECES - of BACON - this - MORNING!"  
  
James stared at her in angry disbelief.   
  
"Everyone has bad days, so don't take your PMS out on me just because you've had one, Evans."  
  
Big mistake.  
  
Lily had every intention of strangling him, but for some reason, she held back.  
  
"You just wait," she whispered. "I swear to god - you just wait."  
  
Lily turned and strode off quickly, her eyes stinging. She threw open the doors of the main entrance and walked outside. Tears were spilling down her cheeks and blurring her vision. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the Durmstrang Ship, sitting lazily on the edge of the lake. She stared at it for a moment. Wiping her eyes, she turned and headed for the small footbridge.  
  
Praying that he would be there, she knocked on the massive black door. A student opened it, and stared down at her.  
  
"Vat do you vant?" he said.  
  
"I need a word with Emanuel."  
  
"He is busy."  
  
"It's very important." Lily pleaded, pinching her sleeves out of nervousness. She looked up again at the student, who in turn, slammed the door in her face.  
  
Lily shrugged her shoulders and nodded slightly.  
  
"Of course." she muttered. She turned and walked back onto the grounds, feeling idiotic at disturbing the international guests.  
  
"Lily, vait."  
  
She turned, and saw Emanuel jogging towards her.  
  
"Sorry. Doran is a fool."  
  
"He said you were busy."  
  
"No. Vy are you upset?"  
  
"Bad day." Lily said, her bottom lip quivering and a few more tears spilling down her face.  
  
Emanuel reached up and brushed them away. Lily was caught off guard when he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. She didn't know what to do but kiss him back, feeling her emotions shatter away to pieces as her mind went mute to anything but him.  
  
*  
  
James trudged back up to the Gryffindor common room, feeling quite annoyed by Evans and her bad temper. Where did she get the idea that she could just yell at him for her problems?  
  
He pushed through the portrait hole and fell back onto the couch by the fire. Remus and Peter were there, playing chess.  
  
"You were at dinner a while." Remus commented, staring intently at the chessboard.  
  
"I went and cleaned my dorm afterwords."  
  
Peter nodded as his bishop overtook Remus' pawn.  
  
"Another fight with Lily?"  
  
James shook his head.  
  
"She just pisses me off sometimes. No - too many times. And then she just yells at me for no damn reason, like I'm the to blame for her problems."  
  
"Well, you know she just -"  
  
"Guys!" Sirius yelled, running down the stairs two at a time. Everyone looked up at him, surprised to see him in such a panic.  
  
"The map," he breathed, "It's gone."  
***  
I am so - so - SO sorry that this came out so late. My computer finally crashed after almost six years. Everything was gone, and it couldn't be brought back. We took it to a future shop, and they told us that this was it. Our slow contraption was finally dead. I had a big chunk of this chapter written on the computer by then, so I was very angry.   
  
But after a few weeks, we got a new computer. Hazaah! - well, partially. I was forced to write this chapter all over again, trying as hard as I could to remember what I had before. And AT LAST - it got posted. The day after HP2 came out on DVD. I'm posting this just before I go and watch it.  
  
And so, I'd like to once again apologize for the stupid inconvenience. I'm going to have another chapter out before Tuesday, I promise. Things are starting to pick up, and here's hoping that I don't make a mess. 


	8. Chapter Eight

I made a huge - HUGE mistake last chapter, which you probably noticed. At the end, where Lily goes to find Emanuel, she goes to the Durmstrang ship, and not the Beauxbatons carraige. I'm the fool, Not Doran - whose name should have been Domenic, or something of the sort. My bad. On with the story...  
  
Landslide :: 8 ::  
  
"Guys!" Sirius yelled, running down the stairs two at a time. Everyone looked up at him, surprised to see him in such a panic.  
  
"The map," he breathed, "It's gone."  
  
***  
  
Lily pulled away from Emanuel. He was the first to speak.  
  
"I'm sorry." he said. Lily looked back at him.  
  
"Why are you sorry? You had nothing to do with any of it."  
  
"No, I am sorry to see you are upset. Come, Monsieur Distrait azz just made tea."  
  
"Thank you." she said. Lily was about to follow him, when her conscience brought her back.  
  
"Or, no. Sorry. It's getting late, and I need to be heading back. I really don't want to break any school rules or anything. But I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast."  
  
She wiped the tip of her nose with her hand.  
  
"But thank you anyways."  
  
"Izz no problem. Here, take zis. Iz very much like muggle painkillers. Sleep well."  
  
He handed Lily a small vial of clear liquid. Lily took it gently.  
  
"You're very kind."  
  
"I try. Bonne nuit, Lily."  
  
Lily smiled in response. She headed back to the castle, with a small weight lifted from her shoulders. The day had somehow ended on a good note. She pocketed the vial when she got inside.  
  
No one was around as she made her way back to her room, thank goodness. Not only would she have to explain herself being out by the Beauxbatons carraige, but why her eyes were all red as well.  
  
Peeves, unknown to Lily, was tailing her until they reached the hallway to her dorm.  
  
"Now what could a Head Girl be doing out of bed so late at night? I've the right mind to tell a teacher about you!"  
  
"Bugger off, Peeves."  
  
"That's no way to speak to a ghost! STUDENT OUT OF BED! STUDENT OUT O-"  
  
Lily flicked her wand at Peeves, and he suddenly grasped his throat.   
  
"My voice!" he mouthed. "What have you done?"  
  
"I daresay I've done the school a favour, but sadly, it's only temporary."  
  
"I'll get you back for this!" He mouthed again, shaking his fist at Lily as he flew away. A few of the paintings pressed their faces to the canvas as they watched him zoom away.  
  
"Good on you, Lily!"  
  
Once Lily had gotten into her dorm, she barely had enough strength to pull the sheets back on the bed, let alone crawl into it. As her head thwapped against the pillow, her last thoughts before she drifted off to sleep were of a handsome exchange student handing her the Triwizard trophy.  
  
*  
  
"What the hell do you mean ' It's gone' ?"  
  
"I mean, Remus, that the map is not in it's usual hiding spot under my trunk."  
  
"Keep your voice down Padfoot! Okay, so it's not there. Did anyone take it and just not put it back?"  
  
James looked at each of his friends in turn, all shaking their heads - eyes wide. James suddenly felt the blood pounding in his ears. He bolted from his seat to the boy's stairway, jumping the stairs two and three at a time.  
  
All four boys slammed into the dormitory door at the same time, but through the jumble of pushing and shoving it was Peter who finally grabbed the doorknob and let them all tumble in. Wordlessly, each went to their beds and started searching through their trunks, under their beds, in their nightstands, by the windows, and every other unlikely place it could have gotten to. James - although he already knew it wouldn't be there - went back to his old bed, the one he had had in every other year before he had become Head Boy.   
  
After a few moments of quiet chaos, the boys stopped. James sat on his old bed, brows brought together in frustrated concentration. Sirius voiced the obvious.  
  
"Someone had to have taken it."  
  
Peter crawled out from between a bookshelf and a desk.  
  
"But who?"  
  
Remus was already folding his clothes neatly back into his trunk. He sensed their gaze, and dropped the sweater he had been folding back on to the floor.  
  
"Listen, no one knows about it but us. Anyone who would have found it or taken it can't know what it is, we put a spell on it, remember? It'll just be a bit of old parchment to them. Who knows, it may just turn up in a wasteasket in the common room."  
  
"Who would want to take a peice of old parchment?" Sirius said.   
  
"No one. That's the thing."  
  
"Guys, relax. No one knows what it is."   
  
Remus picked up his sweater, opened his wardrobe, and tossed it on top of the unkempt pile - shutting the door quickly.  
  
James hadn't spoken in a while, his mind was in concentration. But at Remus' last words, he broke out of his stupor. What Remus had said wasn't, in fact, true. There was one other.   
  
A red-haired someone, who had just vented all her anger out on him and left uttering some kind of - warning. Like she was going to get back at him for something.  
  
"Guys - " he interrupted. "I know who took the map."  
  
*  
  
Lily awoke the next morning, feeling only slightly better, but still terribly miffed at the previous day. On the corner of her bedside table, sat the vial that Emanuel had given her. She picked it up, uncorked it, and smelled the rim.   
  
Odorless. That was odd, most remedy potions were more potent. She swirled the vial. It was also very light. Lily put the vial back on her bedside table as she looked around her room. It was definately in need of some serious cleaning.   
  
She caught sight of her school uniform from yesterday, part of the fringe from her skirt burnt away, as well as a stain on her sweater. Her gaze shifted back to the vial.  
  
Maybe she should take it. If there was any chance that she would feel better, it was a chance that she would be more than willing to gamble on.   
  
What a stupid thought. Gambling. On this tiny little vial. She trusted Emanuel.   
  
The vial drained in one swallow.  
  
*  
  
James woke up later than usual, but then remembered that it was a Saturday - letting his head fall back against the pillow. He lay staring at the celing for a while, contemplating over how to get the map back - and how unbelievably low of Evans to take it in the first place.  
  
He got up and got dressed, pulling his sweater over his head roughly, making his hair look more dissheveled and his appearance more aggrivated. Once he had pulled on his battered running shoes, he left his dorm and waited patiently beside the adjacent painting.  
  
James waited in total silence for over twenty minutes, until the painting gave a lurch. Lily stumbled out, and jumped when she saw him.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
He looked at her before uncrossing his arms.  
  
"Follow me."   
  
James could feel blood pounding at the outer corners of his eyes, and let his fists unclench at his sides. He hoped she was right behind him. Chancing a quick glance over his shoulder, he caught her eye.   
  
She looked at him, puzzlement written all over her face.   
  
"Where are we -" she began, but James' head whipped around, ignoring her.  
  
At long last they arrived in what Lily recognized as the Transfiguration wing. James opened a door to the nearest classroom and headed inside. Lily followed, the door closing automatically behind her.  
  
He leaned against the wall.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Well what?" Lily retorted indignantly.  
  
"I want the parchment back. I know you know what it is, so I won't go on about its value. I suppose I underestimated you. Now I know not to put thievery past you."  
  
"Thievery? You - you think I stole something of yours?!"  
  
"I don't think - I know. Now if you don't mind,"  
  
He held out his hand.   
  
Lily looked at it for a moment, anger boiling in her stomach. She pushed his hand away.   
  
"I don't have anything of yours in my posession, nor would I want any of it in the first place."  
  
"You lie -"  
  
"It isn't my fault that you've gone and lost a bit of old parchment. Maybe if you were that much more organized, you wouldn't need to go off and make idiotic assumptions that it's someone else's fault."  
  
"Evans it isn't PARCHMENT!" he yelled. Lily understood in a heartbeat why he had led her to the place farthest away from the Great Hall and all the crowds. In case there was a loud argument.  
  
"You need to spend more time on your Head Boy duties and less time with your friends on those stupid pranks. So fine, now some poor second year has some exploding parchment, is that it? Did you need it back so you can claim copyright over it, or do we just sit and wait for it to go as wrong as everything else and blow the teeth out of someones head?"  
  
"Are you serious? Is that where this is going again? Only you would change the subject."  
  
"Am I?"  
  
"It's not a prank! Dammit it's a MAP! And I know it was you that took it. You had your twisted motives - you probably went to take it right after dinner, didn't you?"  
  
"I most certainly did not! I was -"  
  
Lily's mouth was open, but in an instant she couldn't remember what she was going to say. Where was she last night? She didn't even have dinner - that much she knew. Or no, she did eat. Didn't she?  
  
"Where?" James demanded.  
  
Lily snapped back.   
  
"What ... what business is it of yours where I was? I don't have your stupid parchment - or map, whatever it was to you. Leave me alone."  
  
Lily turned and left the classroom, closely followed by James. She concentrated so hard on last night. Why couldn't she remember?  
  
Peeves bobbed around the corner, holding a ring of keys - looking very happy with himself. He spotted Lily and James, grinning wildly.  
  
"You wouldn't have guessed it, would you? But I've done it. Filch's key set. I've finally gotten my hands on it!"  
  
He let out a low, malicious chuckle.   
  
It wasn't so much what he was doing there, but his presence struck something in Lily's memory.  
  
"Peeves!" she said, pointing her finger at him. She turned to look at James.   
  
"I remember bumping into him last night! He can tell you. Didn't I see you last night Peeves?"  
  
Peeves raised an eyebrow at her for a while, then turned to James with a toothy grin on his face.  
  
"I haven't seen her in ages."  
  
Lily's jaw could have put a hole in the floor.  
  
"He's lying! I saw him after dinner! - James wait!"  
  
James had already stared at her incredulously before stalking off down the corridor. Lily rounded on Peeves.  
  
"How could you?"  
  
"How could I what? Smart Head Girl is stupid when it comes to revenge..."  
  
"Ugh, Peeves! Any other revengeful thing would have suited, but this was important!"  
  
"My my, in that case - it was very well suited."  
  
Peeves swooped down around the corner, cackling to himself. Lily stared blankly after him. Her mind was still turning over, trying to figure out the events of last night.  
  
Her fingers were numb. She had forgotten her sweater in her dorm, and soon abandoned the Transfiguation wing. As she passed a few windows, she was able to see out onto the grounds. It was a subtle, and quiet change, but the grounds were covered with a thick frost. The lake looked frigid, and the leaves from the trees had all fallen. Lily could see Hagrid raking them all up into neat piles. He was wearing what looked like a heavy cloak, and large yellow earmuffs.   
  
She looked out near the edge of Hagrid's cottage, and saw the Beauxbatons carraige. The horses were tied to a makeshift fence, all of them wearing puffy blue blankets.  
  
Winter was coming. 


End file.
